Another accuser has come forward after Counter-Strike 2 host and caster Mathieu “Maniac” Quiquerez denied allegations he sexually assaulted multiple women at an afterparty hosted by G2 Esports at the Lafayette, a King’s Cross Station venue in London.
Quiquerez’s Sept. 4 denial came after he was today accused of sexually assaulting Hannah Marie, a freelance esports journalist and Play New Meta events manager. Marie, who has contributed to Dot Esports in the past, alleged Manic “groped, inappropriately touched, grinded on, and grabbed” her while standing behind her at a party, despite Marie claiming to show “clear discomfort and no reciprocation.”
“Although Maniac was intoxicated, he appeared very much aware of his actions for at least the first hour of these incidents occurring,” Marie wrote. “When the event concluded, I was so shocked and terrified that I vomited during my journey home.”
Marie said she immediately reported the incident to “a relevant company” who then suggested they’d run an internal investigation and “upheld [Marie’s] allegations.” After she requested written confirmation regarding the investigation’s finding, however, she says she was accidentally added to an ongoing email correspondence chain where the company was allegedly discussing plans to ignore her requests.
In response, Quiquerez wrote on X (formerly Twitter) he had “a drastically different recollection of the events” and said he “does not believe any sexual assault took place.”
At the same time, the caster said he would step down from EPL’s broadcast team. He has been regularly involved in various ESL productions since 2019 alongside work for BLAST and PGL—the latter seeing him work at this year’s Copenhagen Major.
Since the CS2 host’s statement, others who attended the party in question have come forward with their own accusations; Daisy Powers, an interviewer, alleged she was also “groped multiple times by Maniac” and esports entertainer Jack “Jacky” Peters uploaded a four-minute video where he supported Powers’ claims and added Quiquerez allegedly harassed his fiancé by repeatedly pretending to fall so he could “grab her boobs and ass.”
Peters also claimed he and several friends were forced to “bodyblock” Quiquerez in an attempt to separate him from Powers, and that Quiquerez followed them when they moved.
ESL FACEIT Group recently made a statement regarding the allegations in an email sent to Esports.GG. “We are aware of allegations made against an on-broadcast talent who has appeared on EFG’s analyst desk this year,” the TO wrote in the response. “While this incident did not take place at an EFG event, the safety of fans, players, and staff is our number one priority. We are investigating the matter, and moving forward, the talent will no longer be part of the ongoing broadcast of ESL Pro League.”
The CS2 event where the alleged incident occurred was the BLAST Premier Fall Finals London Afterparty, according to a Dust2.us report. BLAST did not immediately return Dot Esports’ request for comment today.
Published: Sep 4, 2024 07:09 pm