The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) has confirmed that they’re currently investigating 35 North American pros for alleged match-fixing in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.
During the HLTV Confirmed show on August 31, ESIC commissioner Ian Smith said that they are actively working alongside Riot Games to investigate the match-fixing allegations since many of the suspected pros have transitioned to Valorant from CSGO.
The news comes after the ESIC handed out five-year bans to CSGO pros Sebastian “retchy” Tropiano and Kevin “4pack” Przypasniak after an audio clip of them attempting to fix a game in the ESEA Premier season 35 North America surfaced. Another participant in the call, Carson “nosraC” O’Reilly, was only handed a ban for 111 days since he didn’t explicitly breach the ESIC anti-corruption code.
The ongoing ESIC investigation is centered around the match-fixing allegations in the ESEA Mountain Dew League (MDL), and even has the FBI involved in it. Many of the pros under investigation had seemingly found a safe haven by moving to Valorant, but the involvement of Riot Games might be enough to ensure that the competitive integrity of the shooter isn’t hampered anytime soon.
