"HUNDEN Gate" - Timeline of events
Get an understanding of the situation surrounding HUNDEN from his cheating back in 2020 to ESIC's final verdict in October this year.
*This is a republished article dating back to October 2021.
Nicolai "HUNDEN" Petersen has been the centre of a dramatic dispute, which has proven to be much deeper and problematic than first assumed. The controversial coach has admitted his wrongdoings in the Spectator Bug Scandal, but he's also accusing several Heroic members of either knowing or helping him exploit the bug.
*Updated 19/10 2021:
The entire itself case concerning HUNDEN can be a bit tough to understand and get a grip on. Therefore, we've decided to make a comprehensive timeline of events of all the events dating back to May 2020.
A timeline of events on the controversy around HUNDEN:
2020
May 2020
According to HUNDEN, there’s some discussions and debates within the Heroic roster whether to use the “Spectator bug” or not in May.
May 19th 2020
Heroic uses the infamous bug for the first time in a match against their countrymen from Astralis at DH Masters Spring EU. According to HUNDEN, numerous players, but not everyone, are aware of the in-game cheating.
May 24th 2020
Heroic make use of the cheat for the second time, now in a match against Spirit at Home Sweet Home 5. According to HUNDEN, the same players from the Astralis match knows about the cheating.
August 31st 2020
HUNDEN is being handed a 12-month ban by ESIC, owing to his involvement in the “Spectator Bug Scandal”. According to HUNDEN, the entire Heroic team, including the CEO at that time, Erik Askered holds a meeting to discuss the ban and how to handle the situation.
Allegedly, some players were ready to go public together with HUNDEN and admit their involvement and their knowing of the cheating. The rest said that they didn’t knew about the cheating.
September 28th 2020
ESIC reduces HUNDEN’s sentence from 12 months to 8 months, owing to his assistance in the investigation.
September 29th 2020
Heroic decide to keep HUNDEN on the team by moving him into an analyst role.
2021
April 30th 2021
HUNDEN returns to his head coach role at Heroic after having served his ESIC ban. HUNDEN once again, states that the players did not know anything about the cheating when it happened.
July 28th 2021
HUNDEN goes public announcing that he won’t extend his contract with Heroic, as he “wishes to begin a new chapter of his career”. In the same statement, HUNDEN denies the rumours of him sharing material from Heroic’s stratbook with others.
July 29th 2021
Heroic announce that they have started to take legal actions against HUNDEN, owing to contract breaches from the coach. Heroic believe to have evidence of HUNDEN sharing “confidential and sensitive information from our strategy folder with a key individual at a major competitor”
August 25th 2021
HUNDEN goes public in an interview with TV2 Sporten, to express his disbelief of ESIC not having heard him in the investigation of him. In the TV2 Sporten article, it’s said that HUNDEN will receive a two-year ban by ESIC.
August 26th 2021
HUNDEN appear in a new TV2 Sporten interview, where he this time states that some of the Heroic players knew about the cheating and the use of “Spectator Bug” back in May 2020. HUNDEN says that he won’t mention any names “because he thinks it is up to the players themselves”.
August 27th 2021
HUNDEN receives his second ESIC ban. This time a two-year ban on the grounds that his actions were "engaging a behaviour that threatened harm to the reputation and competitive integrity of esports".
September 3rd 2021
HUNDEN implicates Rene 'TeSeS' Madsen with the evidence presented to Danish TV2, that the Heroic player entered the server together with his coach, and was the only player who could have boosted HUNDEN to the position, that would trigger the coach-bug. He also reveals a chat log, where former Heroic player, Nikolaj ’niko’ Kristensen writes, that everybody on the team knew about the cheating.
September 6th 2021
ESIC confirms, that they have started an investigation against the Heroic players after HUNDEN has turned over the evidence to the Esports Integrity Commission.
October 18th 2021
ESIC clear four current or former Heroic members (cadiaN, TeSeS, stavn, b0rup) for any allegations brought forward by HUNDEN, as the Integrity Commission revel their final report in the case.
- Upon investigating the conduct of these individuals, ESIC was unable to find anywhere near enough evidence to reasonably conclude that these four players were guilty of any offence under the ESIC Integrity Program, the report states.
October 18th 2021
In the same report by ESIC, the former Heroic player Nikolaj "niko" Kristensen pleaded guilty after he admitted his complicity in the cheating exploits of HUNDEN. However, niko were only sanctioned with minor punishment, owing to ESIC believing he was "ruthlessly manipulated" by HUNDEN, his former coach.
2022
December 2nd 2022
After a long period without any news on HUNDEN it suddenly came to light that ESIC has decided to lift his ban nine months before time.
