3 CS:GO coaches have Major bans rescinded after coach bug scandal

Some of them could return to Major action in Paris.

Photo via StarLadder

Three CS:GO coaches have had their bans from participating in Major tournaments rescinded following successful appeals against their suspension due to a coach bug scandal.

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The three coaches are Nicholas “guerri” Nogueira from FURIA, Anton “ToH1o” Georgiev, and Alessandro “Apoka” Marcucci. The latter two were once at the helm of Luminosity and Nexus, respectively. Two of them announced the news via social media on March 1, while guerri shared the news during ESL Pro League Season 17 broadcast the same day.

The coaches were banned from competing at the Majors by Valve after the organizer took ESIC’s accusations called “demerit points” under the scope. The company issued its own bans on the three individuals, forbidding them to take part in their sponsored events, Majors. Guerri and Toh1o were originally banned until after the second Major of this year, which is currently unannounced. Apoka, on the other hand, had received a permanent ban.

The three individuals received significant adjustments to their bans from ESIC in the two previous years, which also led the organization to release a statement in August 2022. In that announcement, ESIC revealed that it accepted appeals from two Brazilian coaches based on the fact that the “demerit points” had been readjusted. It also asked Valve to change its position on the coaches as well, but at that time it was denied.

Related: CS:GO community enraged over “absolutely shameless” HUNDEN signing by Astralis

With BLAST.tv Paris CS:GO Major 2023 being just three months away, it’s possible that fans will see some of these coaches back in action in France. The most likely return to the Major stage would be guerri, who’s currently coaching FURIA, one of the American favorites to qualify for the event.

Author
Image of Mateusz Miter
Mateusz Miter
Freelance Writer at Dot Esports. Mateusz previously worked for numerous outlets and gaming-adjacent companies, including ESL. League of Legends or CS:GO? He loves them both. In fact, he wonders which game he loves more every day. He wanted to go pro years ago, but somewhere along the way decided journalism was the more sensible option—and he was right.