German Counter-Strike player and streamer MAUschine has been given a 10-year ban from competing by German tournament organizers Fragster and DACH after slapping an opponent on stage at a local German LAN.
What caused the slap at CAGGTUS LAN?
Following the conclusion of their Grand Final contest, the opposing teams were invited to the main stage to shake hands as part of the presentation.
In full view of the audience, and broadcast on the CAGGTUS Leipzig’s Twitch, MAUschine slapped Regnum4Games Fabian ‘Spidergum’ Salomon.
After a period of shared shock and bemusement, the player was asked to leave the stage by the host of the event.
The incident took place after a match in CAGGTUS Leipzig’s Counter-Strike tournament. CAGGTUS is a gaming festival that features a LAN hall, holding competitions in CS2, Valorant, League of Legends, Rocket League, and more.
The annual local LAN awards no prize money, with the winner of its main esports tournaments securing LAN tickets for next year’s event.
Therefore, the match that cost MAUschine 10 years of competition did not cost him anything financially; in fact, the player will have plenty of savings now that he is banned from the event and cannot buy a ticket to play for 10 years.
As for the motive behind the hit, the violent action seemed to have been sparked by trash talk during the match.
MAUschine receives 10-year ban from tournament organizers
Shouting back and forth between teams is extremely common at all levels of Counter-Strike, but especially normal at local LANs where teams are having fun and bantering between each other.
What is not normal is to physically assault a fellow player, something which both DACH and Fragster agree with, both making statements that banned the player for 10 years, referring the incident to ESIC.
DACH shared the following statement: “We do not tolerate physical assaults against other players at LAN and have acted accordingly.
MAUschine is banned for at least 10 years, and the incident has additionally been reported to ESIC. In case it wasn’t clear: We think violence is pretty sh*tty and it has no place in our league.” (translated)
Both bans are somewhat preliminary in nature, as they are subject to ESIC’s decision. Following an investigation from ESIC, the Tournament Organizers will uphold any ban that is decided by the body.
ESIC, the Esports Integrity Commission, is a not-for-profit organization that governs integrity issues for partnered tournaments. While the body has been criticized in the past for slow action, they have clear and recorded evidence to work with to adjudge the punishment for MAUschine’s slap.
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Darragh is an Esports Journalist for Insider Gaming specialising in Counter-Strike. He loves to explore how esports teams work, or why they very often do not.
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