In a statement released today, the Esports Integrity Commission said Valve-imposed CS:GO Major ban sanctions had distorted the intended effect of the ESIC Sanctions, such that they were no longer appropriate.
This claim from ESIC follows the Commission's decision to alter how concessions are applied to coaching bans, following those that were handed out in 2020 as a result of ESIC's investigation into the notorious coaching spectator bug.
ESIC's Statement on the Independent Appeal Panel's findings on two appeals filed by Mr. Alessandro Apoka Marcucci and Mr. Nicholas Guerri Nogueira in July 2022 is available on http://t.co/rRS7kB6yo0 on twitter: https://t.co/sDbUSp7nHf
ESIC awarded demerit points based on the severity of the coaching spectator bug that was used, which was determined by the number of rounds and matches in which the coaching bug was used. Valve then made the decision to translate ESIC demerits into Major ineligibility, which resulted in coaches being banned from one to five or all Majors.
Alessandro Apoka Marcucci and Nicholas Guerri Nogueira made appeals to ESIC based on the compounding effect of the Valve Major bans since both coaches have already served their ESIC suspensions but are still prohibited from attending or coaching at Majors events. Both coaches also had their ESIC suspensions reduced after they both confessed to their involvement in the investigation.
ESIC has modified the method of imposing concessions to a sentence. Now, the concessions will reduce the number of demerits directly rather than just reduce the overall suspension length after the demerits were already applied. This means that Apoka remains permanently banned from Majors until 2023, while Guerri will be permanently banned.
The Commission said that Valves' initial response indicates that it will not make the necessary adjustments. ESIC has also requested that Valve reconsider its position, but Valve is not a member of ESIC.