HUNDEN unbanned, check HLTV
In a shock announcement this morning, the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) announced that Nicolai "HUNDEN" Petersen would be allowed to participate in ESIC member events with immediate effect. In a statement, the commission noted that the parties met in person in order to discuss matters arising from the participation ban where he had allegedly shared anti-strat materials from HEROIC with Astralis.
The statement revealed little of the conversation except that HUNDEN would undertake "relevant training" and that ESIC itself would review its policies and procedures to ensure that they are consistent with good industry practice.
Many in the community have been outraged at the decision, with popular analyst and former coach Janko "YNk" Paunović even calling for ESIC to even be stopped. "Shut ESIC down, it's a joke at this point and it's doing more harm than good".
It is important to note that HUNDEN's current ban was not part of the coaching bug, as he had originally been banned for that on August 31, 2020. In a series of messages, HUNDEN also implicated his former teammates at HEROIC in his cheating exploits, of which his teammates never publicly denied, but there was not enough evidence to convict them of being participants in.
With HUNDEN no longer banned, he is free to now participate in ESIC events. Current rumors suggest that he will join Astralis as they previously stated they "would not have any second thoughts about offering him (HUNDEN) a position as an analyst or the like" once his ban expired.
