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The player has received a two-week ban.
Vladislav “Krad” Kravchenko, a player for 9Pandas, has been banned for two weeks from ESL Challenger League (ECL) Season 49: Europe. The ban comes after Krad used an in-game skin with an offensive sticker during a match on Jan. 21.
The Desert Eagle skin displayed a set of stickers placed together to form an obscene word. This went unnoticed until writer and podcasterLudvig “quacke” Nilssonpointed it out on X. The post sparked widespread criticism amongst the CS2 community, prompting ESL to take action.
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Prior to the confirmation of ESL’s ban, Krad shared a statement onhis X accountclarifying the situation. In the post, Krad said that he bought the skin recently and didn’t notice the obscene remark since he plays with the left-hand model that mirrors the skin.
Krad’s organization, 9Pandas, later published their own statement in Russian. In their statement, the organization apologized for the incident and promised to increase their pre-match checks. The team will also be training their players to prevent similar incidents in the future.
9Pandas also reiterated that the skin went unnoticed due to carelessness and the aforementioned left-handed model. After noticing the skin, Krad “immediately deleted the skin and expressed regret.”
Krad’s ESL ban will hamper the team’s campaign in ECL Season 49. The organization has already confirmed that Anton “tonyblack” Kolesnikov will stand in forthe player’s recent signing.Krad will likely return to the team following the completion of his ban.
The incident serves as a reminder of the importance of vigilance and professionalism in esports. As the industry and the audience grows, organizations and players must work together to uphold proper ethical standards. On 9Pandas' part, the organization’s willingness to recognize a gap in their training protocols and promise to improve them is commendable.
