Written by Dante Uzel on 29 November 2024 17:02
Source: ESIC
ESIC has ruled on its investigation into Astralis' emergency substitution at the BLAST Premier Fall Final, imposing a $15,000 penalty on the team and ordering the forfeiture of their $10,000 prize earnings from the event.
The controversy stemmed from Astralis adding Casper "cadiaN" Møller to their roster as an emergency substitute, claiming that Alexander "br0" Bro was "unfit to play," which BLAST interpreted as a medical emergency, allowing the substitution under the event's eligibility rules. However, it was later revealed that br0 did not have a medical emergency, and Astralis had simply used ambiguous wording in their request without correcting BLAST after the announcement went public.
Despite the lack of a medical emergency, the substitution was allowed to proceed, sparking community backlash. The seven in-game leaders from all other teams at the event protested the decision. ESIC's report noted that BLAST made a procedural error by accepting Astralis' substitution request without proper validation, relying only on the team's claims. This oversight led to a miscommunication, with BLAST announcing the substitution as medically justified despite the lack of evidence.
The watchdog's report also criticized Astralis' conduct: "Astralis benefitted from the misunderstanding and did not promptly correct BLAST’s miscommunication.
Tags: ESIC
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