Fighting Fraud And Match Fixing In Esports - ESIC Refer Team Akuma Case To Valve
In May 2021 EPIC Esports Events, in association with the Russian eSports Federation (RESF), organised and ran the EPIC CIS League Spring 2021[1]. The event has given rise to a lot of cheating allegations against team Akuma[2], who had a surprisingly successful run in the competition. The case is instructive for a number of reasons:
- it demonstrates the importance of anti-cheating mechanisms in professional esports;
- it illustrates the current patchwork nature of regulation in the field; and
- it indicates how the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) continues to mature and succeed as a regulator.
This article examines:
- Facts of the competition
- Role of the ESIC in investigating the case
- Whether the incident could have been prevented
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- Tags: Anti-Corruption | Counter Strike:GO | CS:GO | Esports | Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) | Russia | Sports | Valve
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Written by
Daniel Kozelko
Daniel practises from 39 Essex Chambers and has a particular interest in eSports issues.
He has significant experience in commercial and civil disputes. This includes assisting in multi-million pound contract and construction claims in the High Court, in arbitral proceedings, and appearing in the High Court on civil and regulatory disputes.
Daniel also has an interest in disciplinary proceedings, having worked on a number of matters for a variety of regulators. Daniel is an avid gamer, with a particular interest in MMORPGs, grand strategy, and FPSs. He looks forward to bringing his gaming knowledge to eSports and video game disputes.
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