ESIC lifts the ban on former Heroic coach HUNDEN

The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) has unexpectedly announced that the suspension against former Heroic coach Nicolai “HUNDEN” Petersen has been removed with immediate effect.

The Danish coach was given a two-year suspension in August 2021 for allegedly giving confidential information about Heroic’s strategy to a rival ahead ​​of the 2021 IEM Cologne.  HUNDEN was found guilty by ESIC even though it was discovered that the opposing team never had access to the data he had leaked. As a result, he was forbidden from taking part in any CS:GO competition run by ESIC members, including BLAST, ESL, and DreamHack. 

However, following a settlement with the Esports Integrity Commission, the 31-year-old Danish coach is now permitted to take part in CS:GO competitions once again. ESIC’s statement explains that their decision was a result of constructive engagement between the parties and was made with good faith and a collaborative mindset. There were some areas where the parties couldn’t agree, but both parties understood how crucial integrity was to the success of the Esports industry, according to ESIC. While ESIC has stated it will evaluate its policies and processes to make sure they are in line with industry best practices appropriate for the situation, HUNDEN will complete the necessary training. 

Will HUNDEN make a comeback with Astralis?

After ESIC imposed a two-year suspension on HUNDEN in August 2021, fans believed that the Danish coach left CS:GO. However, a report that surfaced earlier this year, claimed that he was suspected to be working with the Astralis. According to the reports from Dexerto, HUNDEN and Astralis worked together to create tools and instructional videos for Astralis’ collaborative project with Aim Lab. 

Although Astralis confirmed HUNDEN’s collaboration with the organization, it denied any claims that he will continue to work for the organization as a coach or analyst. However, as the Danish coach’s name appeared to be removed from the suspension list, he will likely return to action for his home team soon. Even though he is involved in all kinds of turmoil, Astralis stated that it will permit HUNDEN to make a comeback in 2023 in a more competitive capacity, according to a report by Dexerto.

HUNDEN had a mediocre professional career as a player, but his coaching career got off to a strong start when he joined Heroic in 2020. As coach of the Danish team, HUNDEN helped his team finish runner-up at DreamHack Open Summer Online Europe, and then the team won ESL One Cologne Online Europe in September 2020. Additionally, HUNDEN mentored the current core of Heroic, including the IGL Casper “cadiaN” Møller, René “TeSeS” Madsen, and Martin “stavn” Lund, who recently won BLAST Premier: Fall Finals 2022.

Header: DreamHack/ Adela Sznajder