9z’s CS:GO coach Rafael “zakk” Fernandes has been released from suspension by the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC). The 30-year-old coach will back to lead 9z in competitions after being out of action for more than 50 days.
According to a report by Dexterto, ESIC has lifted zakk’s suspension based on the received “additional information” regarding his notice of charge.
ESIC Commissioner Ian Smith commented on the decision in a statement for Dexterto:
“The Commissioner would ordinarily maintain a provisional suspension in a situation where an integrity threat, whether actual, potential or perceived is, in the Commissioner’s view, posed to member events in the absence of a provisional sanction.”
zakk suspended for use of static bug
The Brazillian coach was suspended by ESIC along with Imperial’s Luis “peacemaker” Tadeu and Team Spirit’s Sergey “hally” Shavaev on May 5 for allegedly exploiting the CS:GO spectator bug during official matches.
According to ESIC’s report, he was supposedly using static bug, the most common one of the three variants of the bug, during two different matches. First, when he was coaching Luminosity in 2018, and the second was with 9z in 2020.
Fans of 9z were completely shocked by the news, especially because it was announced just four days before the PGL Major Antwerp 2022. As a result of zakk’s suspension, 9z’s performance in the Major was significantly affected. The lineup appeared underconfident during most of the matches and lost three games in a row against MIBR, Team Liquid, and ENCE in the Challengers Stage. The South American squad ended 23rd–24th with a 0–3 record in their first-ever PGL Major.
ESIC will continue its investigstion
In September 2020, 37 coaches were sanctioned following ESIC’s investigation into the static variant, while another 47 coaches are still waiting for ESIC’s verdict for the use of the same variant.
ESIC reported that almost a hundred coaches encountered a spectator bug in one of the three variants — free-roam, static and third-person. ESIC hasn’t released the full list of the coaches who encountered the bug yet, but the potential ban threat could shake the entire CS:GO scene.
peacemaker is off the hook, while Hally remains suspended
On May 26, ESIC cleared the Brazilian coach who had come into contact with the most severe form of the spectator bug — free-roaming. Hally now remains the only coach who is still barred after ESIC lifted the peacemaker’s 22-day ban after reviewing provided evidence. Spirit might not have Hally for the IEM Cologne Play-In stage if he does not get the go-ahead from ESIC, whereas team ENCE and Imperial can grind once again with their coaches for the upcoming CS:GO events.
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