ESIC fines Astralis for replacement at BLAST Premier Fall Final 2024

The Esports Ethics Commission (ESIC) has completed its investigation into the situation with Astralis that arose at the September tournament BLAST Premier Fall Final 2024 in Copenhagen.

Note that Casper "cadiaN" Møller was registered for the aforementioned event after the roster lock as an emergency replacement. Astralis' management referred to the fact that Alexander "br0" Bro would not be able to compete at the tournament due to health issues, but Bro's agent said that he was healthy and ready to play.

Following this, the IGLs of the seven teams registered for BLAST Premier Fall Final 2024 in Counter-Strike 2 issued an open letter to the organizers, in which they called on BLAST to force Astralis to compete at the tournament with coach Casper "ruggah" Due instead of cadiaN. BLAST representatives eventually allowed Astralis to field cadiaN, but imposed sanctions on the team – 25% less prize money and a penalty in the seeding rating. Moreover, the tournament operator then made a request to ESIC with a request to conduct a formal investigation.

Today, ESIC issued a verdict: Astralis must forfeit the prize money earned at BLAST Premier Fall Final 2024. In addition, the club was fined $15,000 – this money will be donated to charity.

The Danish club responded to the commission's decision as follows:

We take the ruling into account, but we maintain that our actions were in line with applicable Danish employment laws. We are disappointed that ESIC's ruling and decision does not include the employer’s legal obligation to protect its employees in a sensitive situation.

In light of the ruling, we have decided to donate $15,000 to the Danish Mental Health Foundation (Psykiatrifonden).

BLAST Premier Fall Final 2024 was held from September 25 to 29 in Copenhagen, Denmark. The total prize pool of the competition amounted to $425,000 – it was divided among eight rosters. Astralis secured the last place at the event and earned $10,000. The results of the competition can be found in our article.

Origin: esic.gg