ESL fine Astralis $100,000 for conflict of interest

The Danish organization was punished for "maintaining and not reporting an existing conflict of interest."

Astralis were fined $100,000 after being found guilty of a breach of the partnership's rules and regulations of ESL's Louvre Agreement.

The independent investigation found that the Danish organization "requested and received services from a future employee between April and July 2021, which created a Conflict of Interest as that party held a position of authority within a competitor team."

While the statement from ESL doesn't disclose who exactly was the employee that created the conflict of interest, the description matches the report from Richard Lewis released earlier this year, which revealed that Nicolai "⁠HUNDEN⁠" Petersen had signed an agreement with Astralis while being under contract as HEROIC's coach in 2021.

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Richard Lewis reveals HUNDEN signed contract with Astralis while at Heroic

The sanction comes shortly after the Danish organization suddenly cut ties with both HUNDEN, who was operating as their head analyst, and Director of Sports Kasper Hvidt, who was directly tied to the signing of HUNDEN by the aforementioned report.

However, in a statement on Twitter, HUNDEN claimed that his departure from the organization was not tied to the ESL investigation, as well as noted that he was placed within "non-sanctionable conduct" in this case, while only Astralis were fined.

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Astralis part ways with Kasper Hvidt, HUNDEN

"In January 2023, the Commissioner’s Office of the Louvre Agreement was made aware of a range of claims about a possible breach of the partnership’s rules and regulations," read the statement released by ESL. "In line with its governance code, an independent investigation was commissioned, approved by the ESL Pro League’s Executive Board.

"It found that Astralis asked for and received services from a future employee between April and July 2021, which created a Conflict of Interest as that party held a position of authority within a competitor team.

"As a result, the Executive Board has decided that:
Astralis is fined a grand total of USD 100,000 for maintaining and not reporting an existing conflict of interest. This total includes legal and procedural fees. The independent inquiry found that no competition or match results were impacted, which the Executive Board wishes to place on record."

This is the latest development in a series of controversies surrounding both Astralis and HUNDEN, which also include HEROIC's accusations that the Danish coach had shared confidential material with Astralis in 2021.

You can read through the article below for more details and an in-depth recap of the whole HUDEN saga up to December 2022. Note, HUNDEN was never "cleared" of wrongdoing, but rather was allowed to return to competition with immediate effect.

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Banned, reinstated, banned again, cleared: The HUNDEN saga summarized