The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) has issued a four-year period of ineligibility to professional Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) player Dmytro “nifee” Tediashvili. The sanction follows a detailed investigation into match manipulation and betting-related corruption occurring during the player’s recent stint with Inner Circle Esports, specifically targeting proposition markets rather than overall match outcomes.

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The investigation focused on a series of matches played in October 2025 during ESL Pro League Season 22. In cooperation with data platform Runestone, ESIC identified a pattern of unusual in-game incidents involving Tediashvili—specifically, repeated deaths by Molotovs and incendiary grenades.

These deaths were highly suspicious because they coincided with unusual spikes in betting volume on specific in-game outcome markets, as well as with betting patterns from newly created, dormant, and high-value “VIP” accounts. Gameplay reviews also showed Tediashvili unnecessarily exposing himself to damage without any competitive reason.

According to official communications, while Tediashvili initially denied breaching the ESIC Codes through his legal representative, he ultimately admitted to the conduct and provided assistance relevant to the broader investigation.

Because of his eventual cooperation, ESIC applied a reduction to his sentence. While the offense ordinarily carries a five-year ban, his final sanction has been set at four years. Tediashvili is prohibited from participating in any ESIC member event in any capacity—including as a player, coach, analyst, manager, or team staff—effective from 21 October 2025 to 20 October 2029.

ESIC placed heavy emphasis on the fact that this manipulation targeted proposition (prop) markets, which focus on discrete, isolated in-game incidents rather than who wins or loses the match.

“Even manipulation of seemingly minor in-game events (such as proposition markets) undermines trust in competition and creates broader integrity risks,” ESIC stated in its closing summary. “This sanction reflects ESIC’s commitment to taking enforcement action where evidence supports that a prop market has been improperly targeted.”

Following the public announcement of the ban, Inner Circle released an official statement strongly condemning nifee’s actions. The organisation revealed that upon receiving the initial alert of suspicious activity from ESIC, they immediately benched the player and launched an internal investigation. This was in October 2025.

Furthermore, Inner Circle dropped a major detail regarding the business side of the fallout: due to their growing doubts regarding nifee’s integrity, the organisation made a “preventive decision” last autumn to completely exclude him from the acquisition deal that signed the entire CS2 roster previously playing for Ukrainian organisation TNL.

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