More Coaches To Be Banned Before PGL Antwerp
Ongoing investigations by Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) into the improper use of a spectators bug by professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive coaches are expected to be wrapped up in the coming weeks as teams have addressed concerns that the upcoming PGL Antwerp Major may be affected.
The investigations come as an extension to ESIC's previous findings, where coaches had been found to be taking advantage of an in-game glitch to offer their team an advantage, with the coaches being able to see areas of the maps and therefore communicating to their players as to whether they could see opponents.
Previous investigations resulted in ESIC banning 37 coaches, with suspensions spanning from three months to three years, and now the commission now looking to hand out further punishments.
ESIC Set To Ban More CS:GO Coaches
According to a report from Richard Lewis, ESIC's investigations are beginning to be wrapped up, after facing pressure from the teams to have any enforcements come into play before the start of PGL Antwerp in May.
Lewis also claims that more bans are being finalised, with the commission finding that an alternative method of using the bug, that they previously were unaware of, has been taken advantage of in CS:GO competitions.
A singular usage of the bug is enough for ESIC to invoke a hefty ban towards the abusers, with OG coach Casper "ruggah" Due being a case in point; the Danish head coach received a four-month ban for using the bug on just one occasion, which also saw him miss out on the PGL Stockholm Major, or would have if OG didn't fail to qualify.
Click to enlargeWith the upcoming PGL Antwerp Major set to be one of the most exciting championships since before the coronavirus pandemic, Lewis claims that the individual teams cooperating with ESIC's investigations are now pressing on the commission to release their findings as soon as possible.
The Major is poised to kick off on May 9, leaving ESIC a mere month to roll out their bans, with some teams likely to be without their coach for the trip to Belgium.
