The Esports Integrity Commission has handed five NOMERCY players bans of three years to life for manipulating four matches at Roman Imperium Cup VII. A high-value bet on all four games set the investigation in motion.
The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) has issued final sanctions against five players from NOMERCY following an investigation into match manipulation at Roman Imperium Cup VII in Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal, in March.
Former mousesports and ALTERNATE aTTaX player Oliver “kzy” Heck received a lifetime ban. ESIC pointed to his “central leadership and calling role, involvement in veto decisions, repeated gameplay involvement and complete non-cooperation”.
The sanctions
| Player | Ban | Expires |
|---|---|---|
| Oliver “kzy” Heck | Lifetime | No fixed expiry |
| János “James8k” Fodor | 5 years | 23 April 2031 |
| Petar “perakokanje” Bešir | 5 years | 23 April 2031 |
| Palkovics “2xplayN” Tamás | 3 years | 23 April 2029 |
| Sreten “srtn1” Smiljanić | 3 years | 23 April 2029 |
The decisions are dated 17 September and replace the provisional suspensions that ESIC handed the players on 23 April. The time already served counts towards the fixed bans.
The bans cover more than playing. The players may not coach, manage, analyse or take part “in any capacity” in events run or supported by ESIC or its members, and cannot be accredited as media at official venues.
Four Bo1s, one bet
The case centres on four best-of-one matches NOMERCY played on 28 March. According to ESIC, betting intelligence identified “a structured, high-value pre-match combination wager targeting a -9.5 round handicap across all four matches”. In other words, the bet needed NOMERCY to lose every match by at least ten rounds.
That is what happened:
BETBOOM13-0
NOMERCY
Sangal13-3NOMERCY
BESTIA13-1NOMERCY
Wildcard13-1NOMERCYESIC said it based its decision on a broad evidence bundle, including a data report from its partner Runestone, a full review of the matches, player-specific analysis, communications and financial material and the players’ own responses. The gameplay review found “repeated failures in trading, utility use, positioning and decision-making”, but ESIC stressed that “no isolated gameplay error, transaction or communication was treated as determinative”.
Why the bans differ
ESIC found that all five players had broken its rules on match manipulation and corrupt in-game conduct. The length of each ban came down to role and cooperation:
- kzy: his leadership and calling role and “complete non-cooperation”.
- James8k and perakokanje: corruption findings and no cooperation, but without the leadership role attributed to kzy.
- 2xplayN: his “detailed responses, financial and communications production, continued engagement, youth and relative lack of experience” earned substantial mitigation.
- srtn1: his initial answers, “albeit incomplete and inconsistent”, counted in his favour, as did the lack of a leadership role.
For several of the players, charges related to betting and inside information were treated as admitted because they did not request a hearing in time. ESIC noted that this is not the same as a confession.
A long career ends
kzy is the best-known name in the case. The German played professionally from 2011, according to Liquipedia, and spent time with mousesports, ALTERNATE aTTaX and EURONICS before returning to competition in 2025. For James8k, perakokanje and srtn1, the four matches in Portugal are their only recorded games, according to HLTV.
In June, ESIC announced plans to name former players accused of drawing younger players into corruption.
