FACEIT has banned five NOMERCY players who were sanctioned by ESIC for match manipulation. The bans last as long as the ESIC sanctions. kzy and playN are banned permanently, James8k and perakokanje until April 2031, and srtn1- until April 2029.
This matters because the punishment now goes beyond ESIC events. As a result, the players lose access to a major platform as well.
How the NOMERCY Case Began
The case goes back to Roman Imperium Cup VII in Portugal. On March 28, 2026, NOMERCY played four best-of-one matches against BetBoom Team, Sangal Esports, BESTIA and Wildcard. They lost all four.
According to ESIC, betting intelligence showed a structured, high-value combination wager. It targeted a minus 9.5 round handicap across all four matches. Each result matched that target. Therefore, ESIC opened an investigation and gave the players provisional suspensions on April 23.
What ESIC and FACEIT Decided
On October 15, ESIC announced final decisions against Oliver “kzy” Heck, Janos “James8k” Fodor, Petar “perakokanje” Besir, Palkovics “playN” Tamas and Sreten “srtn1” Smiljanic. The sanctions are dated from September 17, 2026.
FACEIT has now matched them. James8k and perakokanje received five-year sanctions that run to April 23, 2031. srtn1 received a three-year sanction that runs to April 23, 2029.
The playN case changed after the first ruling. ESIC first gave him a sanction until April 2029. However, on October 16, it upgraded this to a lifetime ban. The commission said that public posts he made while suspended were a further breach of its rules.
What This Means for CS2
In the end, two players are out for life, and three others face bans of several years. Meanwhile, the FACEIT bans show that integrity rulings can reach beyond the events where they began.
