Maniac accused of sexual assault by multiple women

Professional Counter-Strike 2 desk host and caster Mathieu "Maniac" Quiquerez has been accused of sexual assault by multiple women during an esports afterparty following the BLAST Premier Finals in June 2024. The alleged sexual abuse reportedly took place at a G2-hosted afterparty for talent, players, and industry insiders at the Lafayette, an event venue by King's Cross Station in London.

The first accusation was posted by Hannah Marie, a freelance journalist located in the United Kingdom today on X, alleging that Quiquerez groped, inappropriately touched, and grinded on her without consent during a three-hour period at the previously mentioned afterparty.

Marie reported the interaction to the "relevant company" who ran an internal investigation on Quiquerez's alleged activities. However, when Marie tried to receive written confirmation of the investigation, she was allegedly blown off and accidentally told by a staff member that they "were planning on ignoring my continued pleas for written recognition of their investigation's result." While Marie did not reveal the company that investigated Quiquerez, multiple sources tell Dust2.us that BLAST Esports was the company handling the investigation.

Dust2.us has reached out to BLAST for a comment on Marie's allegations, but have not heard back by time of publication.

Quiquerez responded to the allegations with his own statement, contradicting some details of Marie's account. He explained that he arrived at the venue via Uber by 12:30 AM local time and was not even on the dancefloor by 12:45 AM. Dust2.us asked Quiquerez for a copy of the Uber receipt to confirm, however he did not respond to the request by the time of publication.

Quiquerez acknowledged that while he and Marie did interact, he claims that it was consensual, mutual flirting that was in an open setting surrounded by a small group of people dancing. He concluded his statement by explaining that he "cannot conceive the idea that I put someone through any sort of discomfort, unease, or torment. This isn't who I am."

Dust2.us reached out to Hannah Marie who provided the following statements:

In the few hours since I made my experience public, other women have reached out to me to share their own experiences being harassed, assaulted, and made feel deeply uncomfortable by [Quiquerez]. Whatever decisions are made by companies and industry figures regarding this situation, I am proud that others have found the strength to reach out and support one another.

Marie also confirmed in a second statement to Dust2.us that the incident took place at the aforementioned BLAST afterparty, and that she had to follow up with BLAST to have the issue raised internally. She also noted that some of her times may be incorrect, however she does not feel it impacts the substance of Quiquerez's alleged sexual assault.

Following Hannah Marie's post and Quiquerez's response, another attendee of the G2 afterparty, Daisy Powers, an esports host and interview, came forward to corroborate Marie's claims. Daisy alleges that she was also "groped multiple times by Maniac" and that "a lot of girls there expressed the same feelings and similar groping and other unacceptable behavior from Maniac."

Powers claimed that she reported the alleged sexual assault, presumably to BLAST Esports, and that she elected to come forward alleging that Quiquerez's statement, "entirely warps the truth." Powers responded to Dust2.us, further corroborating Marie's story while declining further comment.

Dust2.us is continuing to investigate the accusations surrounding Quiquerez and encourages all parties to come forward with their claims. At the time of publication, Quiquerez has stepped away from the ESL Pro League Season 20 broadcast in light of these serious allegations.

Update: ESL provided a statement to Esports.gg with the following. "We are aware of allegations made against an on-broadcast talent who has appeared on EFG’s analyst desk this year. While this incident did not take place at an EFG event, the safety of fans, players, and staff is our No. 1 priority. We are investigating the matter, and moving forward, the talent will no longer be part of the ongoing broadcast of ESL Pro League."