The ESIC organization, which monitors compliance with the rules of fair play in e-sports, reported that, according to its information, the head of the Project X team, Alexander Shishko, has repeatedly placed bets on Counter Strike: Global Offensive, including the performances of his own team. This happened during a period when many of the esports athletes who now make up the Akuma roster competed under the name Project X. In March, this team ceased operations and disbanded its players.
ESIC also mentions that Shishko made a successful bet during the recent EPIC League tournament among the CIS countries on the result of the Virtus.pro match – Akuma. ESIC handed over the collected evidence to Valve, and also recommended that tournament organizers not allow Akuma or other teams associated with Alexander Shishko to participate in competitions until the investigation is completed.
In response to this, Akuma leader Dmitry “SENSEi” Shvorak issued a statement on behalf of the team, denying its involvement in any violations. He also noted that the players cannot be held responsible for the actions of the former team leader. Akuma states that it is ready to cooperate with ESIC and provide all necessary information.
At the same time, ESIC does not plan to launch a full-scale investigation into this case, since it does not have the legal ability to do so due to the fact that the organizer of the EPIC League CIS tournament is not among its partners. Instead, the collected materials were transferred to Valve, which will decide on further actions.
