joel was previously banned by ESIC (Esports Integrity Commission) for match-fixing and gambling allegations
BC.Game official Twitter statement said they have removed player Joel Holmlund | joel from the roster, but emphasized that they will continue to support joel until conclusive evidence is presented.
“We are currently conducting an internal investigation to thoroughly review the allegations made by Akros. We hope to continue supporting joel until concrete evidence is presented. Our primary task is to uphold the integrity principles of CS and the club.
BC.Game firmly opposes any form of cheating, and for this reason, we have removed joel from the current roster. Despite previous suspicions, we chose to trust a young player who had made mistakes. At present, we cannot provide further comments, as we are in the dark just like you.”
joel was banned by the Akros anti-cheat system, causing BC.Game to be disqualified from the CCT S2 Europe Series 7. The 19-year-old Swedish player was banned after connecting to the match server in a game against B8 .
Initially, BC.Game was allowed to complete the first map of the match with a substitute player, but they were disqualified before the second map.
A representative from GRID, the company behind the CCT series, told HLTV: “Based on the information we have, we have no reason to believe this was a misjudgment—joel was banned, and Akros later confirmed the ban.”
This is not the first time joel has been involved in controversy. Last August, the Swede was banned by ESIC for allegedly violating ESIC's anti-corruption code. The alleged violations were related to betting and match-fixing in matches he participated in.
At the end of last year, due to the lack of "compelling or conclusive" evidence of match-fixing, ESIC lifted joel's ban in January 2024. The organization maintained its betting-related allegations but considered his "full and honest cooperation" and "genuine remorse and commitment to seeking professional help for gambling issues" when ending joel's ban. Since then, joel had publicly stated that he would cherish the second chance given by ESIC and was determined to seek redemption. However, it seems he has not been able to do so.
In response to this incident, some CS professional players posted their views.
Cloud9 team captain Kirill Mikhailov | Boombl4(Rus) sarcastically said.
“Maybe this year we can see an award for Best Cheater of the Year at the HLTV Annual Awards Ceremony?”
BB team captain Vladislav Gorshkov | nafany(rus) also talked about the widespread cheating problem in professional competitions and shared his views on joel being banned by the anti-cheat system during the match.
“I want to write some thoughts on joel's ban and the overall topic of 'cheating.' Whether in the past or now, those who have played with me know that I rarely suspect anyone of cheating. But in last year's Tier 2 and Tier 3 matches, the situation of cheating in open/closed qualifiers was simply rampant.
I cannot speak for everyone, but at least in my environment, some people use the same IDs as those teams and players who frequently participate in HLTV-recorded official matches, go through open qualifiers, and sometimes even reach closed qualifiers, thereby ruining others' careers. I cannot summarize the above situation; it is just unfair. Whoever you are, please don't be that kind of jerk.”
Daniil Valitov | headtr1ck also stated: "This is too unfair for the teams eliminated by joel, each of them deserves the qualification for the playoffs more than the cheater."
"My wish for the current CS environment is that when you wake up, there are no more cheaters in the professional scene, so that victories can only be achieved through the hard work and excellent performance of the team."
