The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) has announced that it has changed the demerit system in place to handle the CS:GO coach bug cases, though Valve is not going to follow the new calculation methodology.
The esports watchdog decided to revisit the demerit system following successful appeals lodged by Brazilian coaches Alessandro ‘Apoka’ Marcucci and Nicholas ‘Guerri’ Nogueira.
Represented by Luiz Felipe Maia, the same lawyer that was employed by Luis ‘peacemaker’ Tadeu in his case earlier in the summer, Apoka and guerri were able to convince ESIC Commissioner Ian Smith that Valve’s Sanctions “had distorted the intended effect of the ESIC sanctions” when they were determined and issued.
Apoka had the static variant of the bug in 61 rounds across six games between 2017 and 2020, resulting in eight demerit points and a three-year ban. guerri, on the other hand, experienced the bug in 26 rounds across two games, which translated into five demerit points and a ten-month ban.
Apoka had an 85% reduction in his ban after assisting with the investigation, which saw him miss only 5,4 months of action, while guerri served a four-month ban after a 60% concession.
Meanwhile, Valve stated that it would translate ESIC demerits into Major ineligibility, with offending coaches facing bans that ranged from a minimum of one CS:GO Major to a permanent ban from its events. However, the developer disregarded the concessions that ESIC gave to coaches, which meant that Apoka was handed a lifetime ban from Majors, while guerri was barred from attending five Majors.
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ESIC explained that, when designing the original calculation methodology, it did not imagine that Valve would use the demerit system as the basis for Major bans. The new formula sees the concessions given to coaches included in the calculation of the demerit points: Apoka’s updated demerit points would be 1,2, while guerri’s would be 2.
ESIC's Statement relating to the Independent Appeal Panel findings on two appeals lodged by Mr. Alessandro “Apoka” Marcucci and Mr. Nicholas “Guerri” Nogueira in July 2022.Read here: https://t.co/rRS7kB6yo0 pic.twitter.com/sDbUSp7nHf
— ESIC (@ESIC_Official) August 5, 2022
ESIC notified Valve of the new calculation methodology with hopes that the developer would adjust its sanctions accordingly. However, Valve made it clear that it will not adjust the original bans, which is in line with what it told Dexerto in February.
“While this is a matter for Valve, ESIC has asked Valve to reconsider their stance,” ESIC said.
The news confirms the fraught relationship between Valve and ESIC. In a July 9 article, Dexerto revealed that the lack of communication from Valve had slowed ESIC’s investigation into the historical use of the bug and that the esports watchdog’s efforts to convince the publisher to change its sanctions had fallen on deaf ears.