- Russian team Hard4U has been called out by CS:GO insider neL for alleged match-fixing and cheating.
- Indirect proof like suspicious betting activity, dubious gameplay footage, and various server issues, point a big question mark against Hard4U.
- No action has been taken yet against the team from the organizer's side, neither has an investigation been initiated.
A regional Russian team which goes by the name of Hard4U has been called out for alleged match-fixing and cheating by CS:GO insider and reporter neL (@neLendirekt). The anonymous reporter Tweeted out a series of statements along with some proof to show that there were some unusual discrepancies in the quarterfinal match between Hard4U and LDLC at LOOT.BET CS Season 7: Closed Qualifier.
Sharing personal information neL states that “After the game, LDLC players told me something felt weird with these guys.” Though there was no proper evidence against them, LDLC informed him that during the match the following incidents took place multiple times,
- The server kept crashing repeatedly.
- In a few rounds, there was no bomb present on the map.
The above instances were reported by Ali "hAdji" Haïnouss as well. The LDLC rifler had tweeted about the above-mentioned problems but later deleted the tweet due to UCC (tournament organizer) complaining to LDLC’s manager about hAdji tagging LOOT.BET in his tweet, who are just the sponsors and have nothing to with the organizing of this tournament.
This was just the tip of the iceberg, as neL went on to reveal that even before the match started the result was declared on a CS:GO betting subreddit, hinting towards a possible 322 as the odds of the match dramatically changed right before the start of the series.
In the screenshot shared above, it can be seen how a few users described the match as being ‘blatantly rigged’ while revealing that the odds went from 1.2 to 1.8 just 20 minutes before the start of the match.
According to neL, after he inquired about the team in question from a few people in the CIS region the answer he got was “They are that kind of people.” To prove his point neL shared a clip of one of Hard4U’s player AWPing against Na’Vi Junior in the semifinals.
Soon after, another CS:GO insider OverDrive (@ABOverDrive) who generally operates in the CIS region showed partial support for the Russian team by saying that, “I know all Hard4u players (and) I don’t think they use cheats, I can believe in match-fixing in their case but not in cheating.”
Despite OverDrive showing support for the Russian team, the community did not agree with his statement which felt like hearsay. Majority of the users criticised his comment and stance on the entire situation, refusing to take his word for it.
A few other prominent personalities from the CIS region like Vitalii Volochai who is a Ukrainian esports caster and Yevhen Zolotarov who is the CEO of Natus Vincere also raised their doubts against Hard4U, with Zolotarov saying that it is a pity that the Na’Vi Junior team have to play such suspicious tournaments.
While there is no concrete evidence against Hard4U who won the closed qualifier to make its way through to the main event. The material at hand does raise a few eyebrows against the Russian team.
At the time of writing this article, no action has been taken against the team in question and it seems that the whole situation will die down without any further investigation or discussion on the matter.
