The coach of Imperial Esports, Luis “peacemaker” Tadeu, has been cleared of a provisional suspension issued by the Esports Integrity Commission, according to a statement by the coach. Peacemaker had been handed the ESIC suspension as part of a wave of bans related to the coach spectator bug exploit.
The suspension for peacemaker’s alleged misuse of a “free-roam” variant of the spectator bug came ahead of PGL Major Antwerp 2022. The Brazilian coach was prohibited from attending the event, where Imperial Esports defied expectations during their deep Legends stage run. His ban could have been for as long as 24 months had it gone through.
“This morning, I’ve been communicated through my attorney … that we successfully obtained the immediate lift of my provisional suspension, which means I am no longer in risk of being banned and will be able to continue my career normally,” peacemaker’s statement read.
A maior vitoria da minha carreira.
A partir de hoje, não estou mais suspenso e posso retornar a competir.
The biggest win of my career.
As of today, I am no longer suspended and can go back to competing.
PT-BR + ENG
1/3 pic.twitter.com/KzTgK2v0F6
— Luis Peacemaker (@peacemaker) May 26, 2022
The statement said the decision to rescind the suspension came directly from ESIC commissioner Ian Smith and that an official ESIC announcement should follow shortly. According to the statement, ESIC and Smith accepted evidence provided by peacemaker’s camp that he did not exploit the free-roam spectator bug to provide his team with unfair information.
“I wanna say that I hold no grudges against ESIC and [Smith],” the statement read. “In fact, I know the important[sic] they have for esports and that they have no bad intentions with my case at all,”
Peacemaker went on to list a number of people who were crucial in helping him defend his position, including but not limited to the CEO of Imperial, Felippe Martins, and former Heroic players Marco “Snappi” Pfeiffer and Patrick “es3tag” Hansen. Both Snappi and es3tag were players under peacemaker on Heroic in 2018 during the match and round where the Brazilian coach encountered the bug.
Peacemaker also credited a video made by Danny “mahone” Hsieh, a Counter-Strike: Global offensive analyst, that provided a thorough breakdown of the round in question. The video was used in the defense peacemaker sent to ESIC, according to the statement.
