FURIA’s guerri responds to cheating claims with CSGO coach exploit

FURIA coach Nicholas ‘guerri’ Nogueira is the latest person implicated in the CS:GO cheating scandal, with the Brazilian said to have abused a camera exploit during a ECS Season 7 match against Complexity in June 2019. He has now responded.

FURIA, currently ranked sixth in the world, are now in hot water after their coach, guerri, was reportedly caught using a CS:GO camera exploit that gave coaches an unfair advantage.

Former ESL Head Referee Michal Slowinski claimed guerri used the bug in an ECS Season 7 match against Complexity, and “abused it [for the] whole map.” Slowinski also stated guerri’s client was bugged in an earlier match, and worked around it to get it fixed.

FACEIT have been informed of the incident, although they are yet to release a statement. Guerri is also yet to face any sanctions from tournament organizers.

Guerri came out with a statement of his own, commending the work Slowinski has done to maintain the integrity of the scene. “The situation is real and very easy to explain what happened,” he said, according to a translation.

• Read more: Dead, HUNDEN, MechanoGun banned by ESL for exploiting CS:GO coaching bug

FURIA’s CEO, Jaime Padua, also said the organization was looking into the accusations. “I am properly investigating what was reported by [Slowinski] and already looking for possible explanations,” he said, according to a translation.

Guerri releases video and explanation

Guerri posted a YouTube video on September 2, showing the instances of the alleged coaching exploit in action during matches he was involved in. He says that the first time he encountered the bug, he didn’t understand what it was, and it resolved itself after a single round.

When it occurred again in another match, he expected it to fix itself once again, but when it didn’t he claims he alt-tabbed out of the game completely, and went to stand behind his team. He points to the fact that his cursor moves briefly, the game becomes choppy and the audio drops out. He admits that he should have simply disconnected, but wasn’t aware of the full impact of the bug.

It comes after three coaches ⁠— Ricardo ‘dead’ Sinigaglia of MIBR, Nicolai ‘HUNDEN’ Petersen of Heroic, and Aleksandr ‘MechanoGun’ Bogatyrev of Hard Legion ⁠— were banned by ESL for six, 12, and 24 months respectively for abusing the exploit.

Another coach, Aset ‘Solaar’ Sembiyev of K23 (ranked #29), has also been suspended by his team, pending investigation. The 33-year-old Kazakhstani reportedly used the camera exploit against FATE Esports in Eden Area Malta Vibes Cup 8.

Slowinski urged other coaches to step forward if they abused the camera exploit. “Sooner or later you will be caught and then it will be too late. It’s not a threat, it’s a chance,” he said.

ESIC determine players not complicit in cheating

In a September 2 statement, the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) told the community there is “insufficient evidence available to determine” MIBR, Heroic, and Hard Legion players were complicit in their coaches’ cheating.

“ESIC has reviewed an extensive amount of information with the aim of ascertaining any evidence of complicity of players involved in the affected teams,” it said.

• Read more: How to watch ESL Pro League Season 12

Dead, HUNDEN, and MechanoGun were also banned from ESIC member events for six, 12, and 24 months respectively. This includes being around the players in a team house or facility during online events.

On top of ESL and Dreamhack, the three coaches will also be banned from competing in ESIC member events, which includes Blast and a handful of smaller tournament organizers. ESIC has also urged non-member tournament organizers to uphold the suspensions to “protect the CS:GO esports scene internationally.”

FACEIT, the operators of ECS, are not members of ESIC.