Hunden claims threats to his safety over trying to expose Heroic’s lies.
The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) may open an investigation into whether the Heroic players’ involvement and participation in the coach bug exploit during two games in 2020, according to a report by sport.tv2.dk.
ESIC banned Heroic’s former coach, Nicolai "HUNDEN" Petersen for 2 years for sharing confidential strategy information with an opposing team. The 30-year-old coach had received an 8-month ban for abusing a visual bug in the game.
The visual bug allowed coaches to get uninterrupted vision of a particular area of the map. They could see the position and movement of enemy players who happen to pass (or not) through the area. It resulted in ESIC issuing sanctions against 37 coaches with varying degrees of punishment.
ESIC opens investigation into Hunden’s Claims
Recently, Hunden claimed some Heroic players were well aware of his actions days before ESIC banned him for two years. While he did not specify any names, he mentioned the team had a discussion on whether to use the exploit to their advantage.
“Some players knew,” the 30-year-old said. “I will not give any names, because I think it is up to the players themselves.”
Danish website, TV 2 DK, claims to have documents supporting Hunden’s allegations. CS:GO analyst, Jacob "Pimp" Winneche, has seen these documents and believes Hunden is speaking the truth. If proven to be true, these allegations could have far-reaching consequences on the state of Tier 1 CS:GO esports. Heroic was one of the most dominant CS:GO teams in 2020, including a stint as the world’s best team.
Ian Smith, Integrity Commissioner at ESIC says the esports watchdog could open a case investigating the matter after reviewing the evidence.
It may give reason to look at the matter again, but it will require me to see the evidence that Jacob 'Pimp' Winneche has gained insight into and expressed his opinion about before I can determine whether an investigation can or should be reopened.
While ESIC sanctioned 37 coaches last year, the list did not include any players. Part of the reason was the lack of concrete evidence as well as lack of resources at ESIC.
There was no concrete evidence available about the players' involvement in the cheating and exploitation of the 'coaching bug’on any of the teams involved, and at that time we did not have the resources to proactively catch up. If we had been presented with it, we would have looked at it, just as we would now
ESIC will potentially re-open the case towards the players accused involvement in the Coach Bug scandal. According to TV2, Hunden intend to provide ESIC among others with a full set of proof to back up is claims. - Pimp
Hunden claims threats to his safety and poor working environment at Heroic
Hunden is already preparing his case and will present evidence to ESIC. The former Heroic coach claims he had already sent his resignation (with effect July 31) to the Heroic management. But the team decided to fire him days before his resignation came into effect, claims Hunden.
I was threatened with my safety during the coach bug scandal when I contradicted management's decision to hide the truth – it's important to understand in relation to the poor working environment at Heroic.
Meanwhile, Hunden is preparing documents to present ESIC to aid their investigation. Along with evidence presented to Pimp, Hunden's supporting claims could potentially make for a strong case against the Heroic players and orgnaization.
The Esports Integrity Commision recently launched the Transparency Initiative, wherein it provides regular updates on its ongoing investigation. ESIC recently banned three players as part of its NA MDL match-fixing investigation.
Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest CS:GO news and updates.
Featured Image Credit: Heroic's Twitter.