ESIC Commissioner Ian Smith: "We've got factually substantiated reports on stream-sniping"

The esports watchdog group's chief says that both players and coaches were caught watching streams of matches they were playing.

The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) will come out with a statement on its findings from an investigation into reports of stream-sniping, the association's commissioner, Ian Smith, revealed on 'HLTV Confirmed'.

Mr. Smith spoke about the issue as a guest on the ninth episode of HLTV Confirmed, revealing that the esports watchdog received "perfectly factually substantiated" reports of members of teams watching live streams of matches they were playing, with a statement about the association's findings forthcoming.

"We found that a hell of a lot of people were on the stream [during matches], players and coaches," the ESIC Commissioner shared. "We've got something to say about that — fairly heavy stuff to say about it."

It's unclear just how many matches were affected and whether any teams or players will be sanctioned. Mr. Smith admitted that a part of the investigation relies on evidence "that is not available" and that ESIC's heavy caseload from a separate investigation into match-fixing hinders the commission's ability to open an inquiry into stream-sniping, given its current resources.

In the episode, Mr. Smith also spoke about ESIC's report of its investigation into the historical abuse of the coaching bug, which saw the commission hand out 37 bans, and about its efforts in uncovering match-fixing cases at the lower-tier level.