HUNDEN Might Get a Two-Years Ban by ESIC

Nicolai "HUNDEN" Petersen, who last month was fired by Heroic for allegedly sharing the team’s strategies with an opponent, is reportedly going to get yet another ban by ESIC, this time for up to two years. This information has been shared by the Danish resource tv2.dk.

Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) started their investigation into HUNDEN on July 6th, when they received information that HUNDEN might had broken their Integrity Program in relation to upcoming matches at IEM Cologne. A bit earlier Heroic players decided to play at the event without HUNDEN due to “trust issues”. Then the coach announced his decision to not extend the contract with the organization and leave the team. In response to it, Heroic fired the coach, claiming that he blocked the team’s access to their strategy folder and shared confidential information with a competitor. Heroic considered these actions as a breach of their contract and launched a legal process in Denmark.

HUNDEN denies accusations in sharing the team’s strategies with other teams. He claims that he shared “anti-strat material of opponents” with his colleagues from other teams “in the context of sparring”. Speaking with TV2, the coach complained that the commission did not give him an opportunity to testify in the case. According to his words, ESIC threatened to ban him for 5 years should he appeal the case. ESIC are expected to officially release their findings tomorrow, on August 27th.

HUNDEN, who is now 30-years-old, has been part of the professional Counter Strike scene since 2009. In 2020 he switched to coach role, joining Heroic. Half a year later, he was banned by ESIC for abusing a spectator bug. Then Heroic decided to leave him in the roster, transferring him to the analyst role.