On Aug. 21 last year, one of America’s top teams, iBUYPOWER, played what should have been an easy match against NetcodeGuides.com. But rather than stomping past the competition, they were trounced 16-4. The game, part of the CEVO Professional Season 5, was typified by lackadaisical play and strange behavior on iBUYPOWER’s part: going for knife kills in strange situations, laughing as they lost.
They attributed this to a combination of factors, including a timezone hangover from their time in Cologne for the ESL One Counter-Strike major, as well as a lack of practice on the map.
The next day, however, a young esports journalist provided the Daily Dot with screengrabs of a conversation he had with professional player Shahzeb “ShahZam” Khan before the game. In the messages, Khan declares the match was fixed and iBUYPOWER were going to deliberately lose. When confronted, Khan initially said he'd reveal who was involved in the match-fixing, even as he declared his own innocence. He then changed his mind, offering only a “no comment." While several other players confirmed they had been approached to throw games in the CEVO league, any mention about the specific match dried up.
Now, the Daily Dot has been provided with new corroborating details from multiple sources that strongly indicate the game was fixed and that multiple, unusual bets were placed just prior to the match by a player with strong connections to the players on both sides—wagers that garnered more than $10,000 in earnings. The revelations come amid a terrible winter for professional Counter-Strike, after a number of top players and teams have been implicated in match-fixing and cheating scandals.
I hate the skin betting culture surrounding cs. I know skins are what made this version of cs popular but I get annoyed with what those skins brought to the game; from skin giveaways for promotion gimmicks for twitch streamers to just introducing betting to young teenagers.
On January 17 2015 09:51 Sero wrote: There's no actual proof given in the article. Screenshots of text messages are the only evidence, which could easily be faked.
On January 17 2015 09:51 Sero wrote: There's no actual proof given in the article. Screenshots of text messages are the only evidence, which could easily be faked.
how about the statement from shazam?
"When confronted, Khan initially said he'd reveal who was involved in the match-fixing, even as he declared his own innocence. He then changed his mind, offering only a 'no comment.'"
There's nothing showing that Shazam really said that.
On January 17 2015 09:51 Sero wrote: There's no actual proof given in the article. Screenshots of text messages are the only evidence, which could easily be faked.
how about the statement from shazam?
"When confronted, Khan initially said he'd reveal who was involved in the match-fixing, even as he declared his own innocence. He then changed his mind, offering only a 'no comment.'"
There's nothing showing that Shazam really said that.
I guess you didn't read the whole article. You do know the match that was referenced was played 5 months ago? The part you quoted was when shazam originally wanted to come forth but decided not to at the time 5 months ago.
here is his most recent statement: "The day of this match I had placed a bet on iBUYPOWER. I brought up the bet while talking to Casey Foster, he then voice-called me on Steam Friends and told me to change my bet. He made it very clear the match was going to be thrown. I didn't want to get involved with any of it but I changed my bet, as I thought would be logical at the time while also sharing this information with a friend whom I assumed to have bet the same."
(that was just the first part of his statement, but that should be enough)
To anyone still labouring under the delusion that the texts are fake, we can't release the number they came from for obvious reasons. However we have verified that they are real and if you call the number they are sent from, this happens:
The Daily Dot is a serious publication. We drafted and redrafted this piece several times, had our legal team look at it and published it. The texts came from his phone.
I agree with GTR on how shameful it is that skins can turn people into greedy motherfuckers. But at the same time, I don't mind them since they helped build csgo into what it is today. Sure it has some bad sides to it, but so far I couldn't really be happier because I didn't even pay for csgo (the game paid for itself), I got around 30$ worth of skins and I was able to buy for like 40$ worth of games by just playing/watching tournaments and without betting.
I keep in mind that csgo is still pretty new into esport and I have a good feeling that, over time, stuff like that won't happen again, just like the hackusations. At least I hope so.
On January 17 2015 09:51 Sero wrote: There's no actual proof given in the article. Screenshots of text messages are the only evidence, which could easily be faked.
how about the statement from shazam?
"When confronted, Khan initially said he'd reveal who was involved in the match-fixing, even as he declared his own innocence. He then changed his mind, offering only a 'no comment.'"
There's nothing showing that Shazam really said that.
I guess you didn't read the whole article. You do know the match that was referenced was played 5 months ago? The part you quoted was when shazam originally wanted to come forth but decided not to at the time 5 months ago.
here is his most recent statement: "The day of this match I had placed a bet on iBUYPOWER. I brought up the bet while talking to Casey Foster, he then voice-called me on Steam Friends and told me to change my bet. He made it very clear the match was going to be thrown. I didn't want to get involved with any of it but I changed my bet, as I thought would be logical at the time while also sharing this information with a friend whom I assumed to have bet the same."
(that was just the first part of his statement, but that should be enough)
People who claim the Dot don't have good evidence are ridiculous. The Daily Dot isn't some backwater website, it covers more than just Esports. Granted a bunch of it can be clickbaity, but they still have a requirement to you know have journalistic integrity.
If there is one thing richard lewis does have its his integrity as a journalist and he legitimately tries his damnedest to not post gossip. If the dot says they can prove the screenshots are real etc then I am inclined to believe them.
i always wished the match fixing rumours were false just for the sake of the NA scene
but if this is the true state of things then thats just sad, because you can read between the lines that seemingly quite a lot of the people in the "inner circle" of top NA scene knew of these match fixes but never did anything about it. that makes the whole scene look very shady and corrupt.
It's an absolute shame that Richard Lewis gets so much flak for his work in the CS:GO community, and especially so for the work he's done around this scandal. Glad there is someone there to do this work and I hope the players involved are punished severely, even if it may hurt the NA scene right now.
On January 17 2015 10:46 Liquid`Nazgul wrote: This is great work by Richard really. So important.
Agreed. Really good journalism and they did it the right way. Props to the entire team over at Daily Dot for not only uncovering it, but making sure that they did it the right way.
Props to Richard Lewis and DailyDot for taking a fine, very journalistic approach and uncovering this in a very appropriate way. Real shame for the CS:GO scene, this shit is toxic and I really hope we see it punished accordingly.
if everything in the article is nothing but true, i hope there is some sort of punishment. dboorn, a member involved, has already been punished as he lost his esea black membership today. i hope we see some more backlash from leagues; again, only if this is nothing but true.
He has found some new info (the girl posted those screenshots almost 2 weeks ago) which legitimizes his previous work and gives something solid to go on which is nice but anyone who watched that game and then saw the shahzam screenshots didn't have any problem believing if after the first time. Plus, there have been a lot of new people brought into the CS scene since this happened and no major tournaments atm, so just great timing on the release also.
What hurt R.Lewis more than anything the first time is the fact that it was Shahzam who was essentially his main source of information. Anything that came from shahzam was going to initially cause negative reactions/ mixed emotions.
With this said, I myself was really surprised at how the cs:go community really didn't care all too much. I thought it would be like sc2, with people even wanting to email sponsors, etc but the major consensus of the community seemed to not take it too seriously. Or just be willing to look past it.
R.Lewis does seem to have shahzam's back in his piece. He portrays him in a good way, etc.. Definitely a little I scratch your back, you scratch mine going on between them. Good investigating by him in any way.
there's no point to having picking up a roster that can't be on CSGL. Am I wrong thinking the only way teams get exposure in CSGO is if a match is on CSGL, there's a LAN, or the reddits?
On January 17 2015 20:18 wallhacker wrote: there's no point to having picking up a roster that can't be on CSGL. Am I wrong thinking the only way teams get exposure in CSGO is if a match is on CSGL, there's a LAN, or the reddits?
skins definitely help with exposing the game to more viewers. Remember when CSGL banned ESEA from their site? ESEA only had like 400 viewers a match for those 2 weeks.
On January 17 2015 20:18 wallhacker wrote: there's no point to having picking up a roster that can't be on CSGL. Am I wrong thinking the only way teams get exposure in CSGO is if a match is on CSGL, there's a LAN, or the reddits?
skins definitely help with exposing the game to more viewers. Remember when CSGL banned ESEA from their site? ESEA only had like 400 viewers a match for those 2 weeks.
And that's completly stupid. It should be about the game not the skins.
Counterstrike = Kiddies, Cheats the skinsystem might add to the matchfixing aspect because its super easy and concentrated
Becaus of the "Box Dropping" and the need to buy a key to have a chance of "winning content", it's basicly per definition lottery and gamble. If valve does not have a licencse it could even get banned in germany.
On January 17 2015 20:18 wallhacker wrote: there's no point to having picking up a roster that can't be on CSGL. Am I wrong thinking the only way teams get exposure in CSGO is if a match is on CSGL, there's a LAN, or the reddits?
skins definitely help with exposing the game to more viewers. Remember when CSGL banned ESEA from their site? ESEA only had like 400 viewers a match for those 2 weeks.
That's also when the game had 20k concurrents. Now it has close to 400k concurrents
That timing though, well its going to be tough for them to find sponsors now. The news is five months late, but better late then never for the sake of integrity of the scene.
The scary or sad thing is that while this confirms the iBP/NCG match, there is almost no way to prove that there was or is a larger match fixing circle that involves these players. While some action needs to be taken, I don't see what exactly leagues can do - ban Torqued, ex-iBP and the newly minted CLG team? It's absolutely frightening to think about since it would all but dismantle the NA scene that for once actually started picking up steam with competitive teams.
On January 17 2015 20:18 wallhacker wrote: there's no point to having picking up a roster that can't be on CSGL. Am I wrong thinking the only way teams get exposure in CSGO is if a match is on CSGL, there's a LAN, or the reddits?
skins definitely help with exposing the game to more viewers. Remember when CSGL banned ESEA from their site? ESEA only had like 400 viewers a match for those 2 weeks.
And that's completly stupid. It should be about the game not the skins.
Not really. Betting skins adds interest to games that otherwise don't interest people. Sure, as a Cloud9/NiP fan I will watch all their games just to watch and love it. Same goes for any matches at Majors/Lans. But random cevo week 4.2 match between Lunatik and Area 51 I really don't give a shit about unless I can bet skins.
On January 17 2015 20:18 wallhacker wrote: there's no point to having picking up a roster that can't be on CSGL. Am I wrong thinking the only way teams get exposure in CSGO is if a match is on CSGL, there's a LAN, or the reddits?
skins definitely help with exposing the game to more viewers. Remember when CSGL banned ESEA from their site? ESEA only had like 400 viewers a match for those 2 weeks.
And that's completly stupid. It should be about the game not the skins.
Not really. Betting skins adds interest to games that otherwise don't interest me. Sure, as a Cloud9/NiP fan I will watch all their games just to watch and love it. Same goes for any matches at Majors/Lans. But random cevo week 4.2 match between Lunatik and Area 51 I really don't give a shit about unless I can bet skins.
You still don't give a shit about that random game. You give a shit about the skins.
Dang, I remember when this happened, Shahzam and Dazed went on Summit's stream to basically talk about how ridiculous the allegations were. Weird to think now what was really going on...
On January 17 2015 20:18 wallhacker wrote: there's no point to having picking up a roster that can't be on CSGL. Am I wrong thinking the only way teams get exposure in CSGO is if a match is on CSGL, there's a LAN, or the reddits?
skins definitely help with exposing the game to more viewers. Remember when CSGL banned ESEA from their site? ESEA only had like 400 viewers a match for those 2 weeks.
And that's completly stupid. It should be about the game not the skins.
Not really. Betting skins adds interest to games that otherwise don't interest me. Sure, as a Cloud9/NiP fan I will watch all their games just to watch and love it. Same goes for any matches at Majors/Lans. But random cevo week 4.2 match between Lunatik and Area 51 I really don't give a shit about unless I can bet skins.
You still don't give a shit about that random game. You give a shit about the skins.
Exactly, but now I am at least watching the game. So the views dropping dramatically when esea was banned makes perfect sense. You can say it's stupid, but it's reality.
On January 18 2015 00:19 Wunder wrote: The scary or sad thing is that while this confirms the iBP/NCG match, there is almost no way to prove that there was or is a larger match fixing circle that involves these players. While some action needs to be taken, I don't see what exactly leagues can do - ban Torqued, ex-iBP and the newly minted CLG team? It's absolutely frightening to think about since it would all but dismantle the NA scene that for once actually started picking up steam with competitive teams.
This is really shameful. I'm pretty annoyed by it all. People have been working their butts off to propel CS:GO towards the forefront of esports, and selfish idiots drag the community down for some skins/money. If all the players involved get banned for a significant amount of time from major tourneys, that is going to leave a gaping hole in the NA scene, and that is a lot of regional progress that will need to be reclaimed. It will take quite a bit of time to recover I feel, considering there are players from ex-iBP, Torqued and C9 (ShahZaM) involved.
But if everything is true, good riddance. Even if it pushes us back, we can't tolerate match-fixing one bit, or that would be the real end of the scene.
On January 18 2015 00:19 Wunder wrote: The scary or sad thing is that while this confirms the iBP/NCG match, there is almost no way to prove that there was or is a larger match fixing circle that involves these players. While some action needs to be taken, I don't see what exactly leagues can do - ban Torqued, ex-iBP and the newly minted CLG team? It's absolutely frightening to think about since it would all but dismantle the NA scene that for once actually started picking up steam with competitive teams.
It'd really just be C9 and random T2 teams.
Not to mention that Shahzam has been in the thick of all scandals surrounding the NA scene, so if some big network would be rolled up, he would be included.
On January 18 2015 11:39 Souma wrote: This is really shameful. I'm pretty annoyed by it all. People have been working their butts off to propel CS:GO towards the forefront of esports, and selfish idiots drag the community down for some skins/money. If all the players involved get banned for a significant amount of time from major tourneys, that is going to leave a gaping hole in the NA scene, and that is a lot of regional progress that will need to be reclaimed. It will take quite a bit of time to recover I feel, considering there are players from ex-iBP, Torqued and C9 (ShahZaM) involved.
But if everything is true, good riddance. Even if it pushes us back, we can't tolerate match-fixing one bit, or that would be the real end of the scene.
Pretty much this, its painful to see our scene to take a step back, but i like to think of it as growing pains given we are just going to come back stronger.
Shahzam knowingly and intentionally profited from the match fix and even informed a friend of it. That alone still sets up him to be punished, although not as badly as the match fixers themselves.
With the news of GX withdrawing from MLG and Hiko announcing his desire to look for another team, we have some rather interesting developments in this scandal. Hiko's statement included this with regard to GX and the scandal:
The other guys felt like until they know what is going to happen with valve and until this cloud of uncertainty goes away that it is in their best not to worry about playing in tournaments.
This is obviously intended to be a rather vague statement, but in combination with another piece of information, it gets quite interesting.
GX plans to attend ClutchCon with desi filling in as a replacement presumably for Dazed, just like he did in the match against Denial that was just played last night. The core of the team (swag/azk/ska) still want to play, it's seemingly just Dazed that doesn't want to play anymore under the "could of uncertainty".
Dazed also happens to be the worst-looking member of the team in the match fixing scandal, having been the owner/operator of the NCG site and thus associated with the other team implicated in the scandal. He's also mentioned by name in the texts that originally appeared in the article.
Obviously I don't particularly believe in coincidence, and indeed I have no reason to with Hiko's statement as proof that this 'break' is due to the scandal itself. Why Dazed is the only one not continuing to play despite the ongoing investigation is certainly an interesting question. Is he going to be the one to take all the blame? Is he indeed the only one TO blame, given that he was IGL and could have influenced the game on his own? The former seems somewhat more likely, but until we know who was paid or given what, all we have to go on is how the players themselves are reacting, and boy does Dazed look guilty.
We can confirm, by investigating the historical activity of relevant accounts, that a substantial number of high valued items won from that match by Duc “cud” Pham were transferred ( via Derek “dboorn” Boorn ) to iBUYPOWER players and NetCodeGuides founder, Casey Foster.
All together, the information we have collected and received makes us uncomfortable continuing any involvement with these individuals. Therefore we will be directing our CS:GO event partners to not allow any of the following individuals’ participation in any capacity in Valve-sponsored events:
Professional players, their managers, and teams’ organization staff, should under no circumstances gamble on CS:GO matches, associate with high volume CS:GO gamblers, or deliver information to others that might influence their CS:GO bets.
In 2014 we witnessed the explosive growth of CS:GO as a competitive eSport, and 2015 has already started strong. But as CS:GO grows, it’s important to consider the substantial impact an individual professional Counter-Strike player has on the health and stability of their sport. Performing before an audience of millions of fans, they are ambassadors for their game – the strength of professional Counter-Strike comes from the integrity of its players and teams.
Incredible! I honestly did not believe it when players and other people were saying Valve were looking into it. What a decision, and I can't say it isn't deserved. It will be a very interesting couple of weeks.
Thank you, Richard Lewis, for the rare yet much needed investigate journalism within our scene, and thanks to Valve for actually taking a proactive stance on the matter and getting things done.
Professional players, their managers, and teams’ organization staff, should under no circumstances gamble on CS:GO matches, associate with high volume CS:GO gamblers, or deliver information to others that might influence their CS:GO bets.
Dear casters (RoomOnFire, Faceit's ddk & james, etc.), please follow that rule too, I really cringe each time you mention betting (especially on csgl). As you want to support the game to grow to be a great e-sport, encouraging under-aged to gamble is not what I call professional.
Professional players, their managers, and teams’ organization staff, should under no circumstances gamble on CS:GO matches, associate with high volume CS:GO gamblers, or deliver information to others that might influence their CS:GO bets.
Dear casters (RoomOnFire, Faceit's ddk & james, etc.), please follow that rule too, I really cringe each time you mention betting (especially on csgl). As you want to support the game to grow to be a great e-sport, encouraging under-aged to gamble is not what I call professional.
Meh, as long as they don't influence the matchs there is no reason for them to be banned from betting. As for not mentionning it on stream, yea that probably would be a good idea, but nothing major.
Professional players, their managers, and teams’ organization staff, should under no circumstances gamble on CS:GO matches, associate with high volume CS:GO gamblers, or deliver information to others that might influence their CS:GO bets.
Dear casters (RoomOnFire, Faceit's ddk & james, etc.), please follow that rule too, I really cringe each time you mention betting (especially on csgl). As you want to support the game to grow to be a great e-sport, encouraging under-aged to gamble is not what I call professional.
Betting sites sponsor some of the tournaments/streams/teams, it's obligatory that they mention it.
Professional players, their managers, and teams’ organization staff, should under no circumstances gamble on CS:GO matches, associate with high volume CS:GO gamblers, or deliver information to others that might influence their CS:GO bets.
Dear casters (RoomOnFire, Faceit's ddk & james, etc.), please follow that rule too, I really cringe each time you mention betting (especially on csgl). As you want to support the game to grow to be a great e-sport, encouraging under-aged to gamble is not what I call professional.
I actually find it interesting to hear those numbers as you get to see who the community thinks will win.
On January 27 2015 07:45 Djzapz wrote: My question is, why is Skadoodle not on the list? Souma brought it up, I'd like a statement :o
Who knows.
My guess is that Valve looked at the item exchange on the steam accounts and since Skadoodle received nothing linked to the skins from the betting they decided he was not involved.
On January 27 2015 07:16 Roggay wrote: On a side note, this also mean that Steel will not be able to be an observer, which is really upsetting as he is the best out there.
He was so good at MLG Aspen, it's unfortunate he won't be able to continue in this role either.
Maybe the implication of this is Shahzam is out and Skadoodle's in... maybe C9's not going to have to disband after their embarrassing performance at MLG.
On January 27 2015 07:58 Djzapz wrote: Maybe the implication of this is Shahzam is out and Skadoodle's in... maybe C9's not going to have to disband after their embarrassing performance at MLG.
Is it common for csgo teams to do that? He like just joined.
On January 27 2015 07:58 Djzapz wrote: Maybe the implication of this is Shahzam is out and Skadoodle's in... maybe C9's not going to have to disband after their embarrassing performance at MLG.
Is it common for csgo teams to do that? He like just joined.
NA teams spend more time on disbanding and/or roster changes than on playing the game actually.
Or they end their career directly by stealing some money. xD R.I.P. swag, most talented NA player.
at least ska isn't banned, but damn, swag gone for a year, that's rough.
however, it's pretty obvious that this wasn't the only instance of this match fixing. I mean the trading on cud's betting accounts was still active even up to a few weeks ago. this situation just has the highest profile players and most evidence.
On January 27 2015 08:04 Looms wrote: RIP NA lol. sad day.
at least ska isn't banned, but damn, swag gone for a year, that's rough.
however, it's pretty obvious that this wasn't the only instance of this match fixing. I mean the trading on cud's betting accounts was still active even up to a few weeks ago. this situation just has the highest profile players and most evidence.
swag and the other guys are basically gone forever. The Valve ban is permanent. Why should any team pick them up if they can't play in major tournaments.
Only a year from ESEA. Swag is gone permanently from all Valve sponsored tournaments, and potentially the lower level tournaments if they decide to follow Valve's banlist.
"First and foremost I want to apologize to all the fans and sponsors I let down," he wrote on Facebook.
"I was aware of what was happening and allowed it to happen without saying anything. Stealing from people is wrong, and I got what I deserved.
"I just wanted to reach out to people online and formally apologize because I feel like it is owed. I feel it is important people know that I was not the benefactor from this scandal like some of the other players were.
"I received very few skins in comparison to some of the other players and I honestly don't know why as I could careless about skins.
"If you've seen my inventory I still use half of the default skins. I understand by taking one skin, I am wrong, and should be banned.
"I just wanted the public to know my level of involvement was no where near the person organizing this."
--
"This is very unfortunate for me moving forward but the ban was necessary in order to set a precedent for future players to come," he says.
"I hope one day valve may have mercy on me and let me compete again. Until then I am deeply sorry to all my fans and everyone that supported me that I was involved in this, and not just because we got caught."
On January 27 2015 08:10 Djzapz wrote: Sucks for swag, he's a kid and you can bet this 15 year old wasn't pulling the strings.
Doesn't matter. He said it himself: "I understand by taking one skin, I am wrong, and should be banned."
Yeah, retrospect is a thing
But my point is that at his age, if my older teammates told me to throw an insignificant game for profit, I wouldn't have had the spine (or the moral compass) to refuse.
On January 27 2015 08:10 Djzapz wrote: Sucks for swag, he's a kid and you can bet this 15 year old wasn't pulling the strings.
Doesn't matter. He said it himself: "I understand by taking one skin, I am wrong, and should be banned."
Yeah, retrospect is a thing
But my point is that at his age, if my older teammates told me to throw an insignificant game for profit, I wouldn't have had the spine (or the moral compass) to refuse.
He surely isn't the mastermind behind all this. But you're still guilty if you're just the driver at a bank robbery and you're older friends told you to do so.
On January 27 2015 08:10 Djzapz wrote: Sucks for swag, he's a kid and you can bet this 15 year old wasn't pulling the strings.
Doesn't matter. He said it himself: "I understand by taking one skin, I am wrong, and should be banned."
Yeah, retrospect is a thing
But my point is that at his age, if my older teammates told me to throw an insignificant game for profit, I wouldn't have had the spine (or the moral compass) to refuse.
He surely isn't the mastermind behind all this. But you're still guilty if you're just the driver at a bank robbery and you're older friends told you to do so.
Heh I think young age can be an attenuating circumstance. Not saying he shouldn't be banned but I'm saying if you're young you may deserve a second chance. Dazed, however, got into a skype call with a videogaming journalist and Shahzam (who is the one who initially got caught telling people that the game was being thrown before it was played). In that phone call he essentially put Shahzam's integrity into question (not an unfair strategy considering) and basically acted like the idea that IBP was throwing was preposterous.
They got what they deserved but unfortunately there has been recorded match fixing in the European scene as well that has gone unpunished in the same manner.
On January 27 2015 08:10 Djzapz wrote: Sucks for swag, he's a kid and you can bet this 15 year old wasn't pulling the strings.
Doesn't matter. He said it himself: "I understand by taking one skin, I am wrong, and should be banned."
Yeah, retrospect is a thing
But my point is that at his age, if my older teammates told me to throw an insignificant game for profit, I wouldn't have had the spine (or the moral compass) to refuse.
He surely isn't the mastermind behind all this. But you're still guilty if you're just the driver at a bank robbery and you're older friends told you to do so.
I don't think anyone is saying swag isnt guilty, just that it is understandable that that shit happens when you are young. This really fucks the NA scene though, 2 of top 4 teams gone.
"According to a statement issued by ESEA, even though the bans have been issued for just a year, it reserves the right to extend them "indefinitely". "
Hard to overemphasize the importance of good management, professional organization, and mature leadership in esports. Otherwise the combination of guaranteed money from a fix and the lack of perspective to know better will prove too strong for talented young players.
On January 27 2015 08:30 tree.hugger wrote: Hard to overemphasize the importance of good management, professional organization, and mature leadership in esports. Otherwise the combination of guaranteed money from a fix and the lack of perspective to know better will prove too strong for talented young players.
I agree completely. However, in 2014, the NA CS scene lacked all three of those standards.
[–]OfficialHikoFormer Cloud9 Player [score hidden] 51 minutes ago
RIP the dream. Skadoodle and myself will be looking at our options in the coming days and deciding what our next best move from here will be. It's a shame what happened to those guys, and even more a shame they would be willing to risk their professional career just to win skins. They definitely deserve what happened to them, and I will not associate myself with these guys any longer.
[–]OfficialHikoFormer Cloud9 Player [score hidden] 51 minutes ago
RIP the dream. Skadoodle and myself will be looking at our options in the coming days and deciding what our next best move from here will be. It's a shame what happened to those guys, and even more a shame they would be willing to risk their professional career just to win skins. They definitely deserve what happened to them, and I will not associate myself with these guys any longer.
new team inc!
Well, he was talking over twitter with the Optic owner. Wouldn't be bad for a new organization looking to expand into CS:GO to pick them both up and build a team around them.
If swag is still young i could see giving him another chance down the road, but idk its hard to decide. If i was 15, had limited parental guidance and people told me to do dumb shit for money i'd do it too, victim of circumstances; also don't underestimate peer pressure.
But oh wells whats done is done, no taking it back now. Hopefully steel can still observe shit, he was pretty good.
EPT
![[image loading]](https://i.imgur.com/5SskdfK.png?1)
