Two-Year Match-Fixing Ban for “gokushima”

Erkhan “⁠gokushima⁠” Bagynanov has been handed a two-year ban from competing due to match-fixing, as announced by ESIC. The ban commenced on March 27, 2024, and will extend until March 26, 2026, making him ineligible to participate in any ESIC-sanctioned events.

The 23-year-old first made a name for himself in October 2023 when he was signed by FORZE, maintaining an average rating of 1.12 until his removal from the starting lineup following the ESIC ban on March 27. No official statements were made by the Russian organization at that time.

The ban was implemented just days before FORZE announced the benching of its entire roster on April 2, with gokushima’s last match for FORZE occurring on the day of his ban. The team has since competed in Skyesports Masters and ESL Challenger League, utilizing a substitute for the banned player along with the other benched teammates.

ESIC issued a statement detailing the specific articles of its Code of Conduct breached by the player, although the matches involved have not been publicly disclosed by ESIC:

Corruption:

• Attempting to fix or manipulate in any way, or being involved in any effort to improperly influence the result, progress, conduct, or any other aspect of any match.

Betting:

• Betting on any match, including those in which you were a professional participant during the ESL IEM events.
• Assisting, abetting, or aiding any party in committing the acts described above.

Further breaches under the ESIC Code of Conduct include:

• Conduct that discredits Esports, the game, event, ESIC, or a member.
• Match manipulation for improper reasons.