DreamHack is the newest tournament organizer to align itself with the Esports Integrity Coalition’s recommendations for rule-breakers in esports.
Match-fixers and cheaters who were banned prior to Feb. 15, 2015 are now able to compete in DreamHack events. The list of popular players previously banned for match-fixing include the former iBuyPower players—Joshua “steel” Nissan, Braxton “swag” Pierce, Sam “DaZeD” Marine, and Keven “AZK” Lariviere—as well as Epsilon Esports players Kevin “Uzzziii” Vernel, Joey “fxy0” Schlosser, Robin “GMX” Stahmer, and Morgan “B1GGY” Madour. Former Team LDLC player Hovik “KQLY” Tovmassian also falls into the unbanned category, as he was banned for cheating in 2014.
Related: Esports Integrity Coalition sets out recommendations for future esports bans
“All previously issued indefinite lifetime bans [related to cheating and match-fixing/betting fraud] issued prior to Feb. 15th, 2015 have been lifted,” DreamHack said in its announcement.
ESL was the first tournament organizer to recognize the governing body in late July, and now DreamHack has also officially become the second to follow its sanctions. A change in stance regarding rule-breakers has not been made with other large tournament organizers, such as ELEAGUE, StarLadder, and PGL.
Despite DreamHack’s alignment with ESIC, Valve rulings on match-fixers and cheaters will supersede ESIC’s sanctions. This means that the former iBP and Epsilon players will still not be able to compete in Valve Majors. Regardless of this, the community will be excited to see these players in more upcoming CS:GO events.
