ESL comment on HUNDEN allegations: "No possible impact to the tournament integrity of IEM Cologne"

The tournament organizer conducted its own investigation into the allegations to determine whether IEM Cologne's tournament integrity was affected.

ESL's Senior Vice President of Product, Ulrich Schulze, has addressed recent allegations against Nicolai "⁠HUNDEN⁠" Petersen made by HEROIC, revealing that the tournament organizer's own investigation into the matter produced "conclusive findings" that led them to believe that the situation had "no possible impact to the tournament integrity of IEM Cologne."

According to Mr. Schulze, after being notified of HEROIC's claims that HUNDEN shared sensitive information with another team also competing at IEM Cologne, ESL found that "permissions to access a shared folder were sent out" but that the folder in question "was not accessed by the recipient."

Mr. Schulze went on to stress that the investigation did not determine whether the sharing of the information itself was a punishable offense, and that it would be part of an "ongoing investigation" by the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC).

The allegations first came into the public eye when HUNDEN himself touched on the matter in a personal statement on Wednesday. The coach denied claims that he had shared his team's strategy book with a competitor, saying that the only details he had discussed with colleagues from other teams were anti-strat material of opponents.

HEROIC went on to release their side of the story on Thursday, announcing the beginning of legal proceedings against the 30-year-old, whom they believe breached his contract by sharing confidential information with a "major competitor" without the knowledge of the team.