The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) has announced that former Heroic coach Nikolai "HUNDEN" Petersen will receive a two-year ban. He is accused of giving third parties access to a folder in which materials about the team's preparation were stored on the eve of IEM Cologne.
Commenting on this message, ESIC notes that the team to which HUNDEN provided this information also took part in IEM Cologne, and, moreover, the coach was considering the possibility of moving to it in the future. Although ESIC does not mention its name, it can be assumed that it is Astralis – It was previously reported that Petersen is being considered as one of the main candidates for the position currently occupied by Danny "zonic" Sjørensen.
ESIC representatives note that the incident did not harm the conduct of IEM Cologne, since, as an independent examination established, the third-party team did not take advantage of the access provided by Petersen. However, HUNDEN's actions are considered a "threat to the reputation of the eSports event organized by ESIC members." and “a threat to the reputation and competitive principles of eSports as a whole.” and therefore attract such severe punishment. HUNDEN's troubles most likely won't end there: Heroic has filed a lawsuit against him, so he may face prosecution.
