Previously banned for matchfixing, Russian player Erkhan “gokushima” Bagynanov recently had his sentence reduced following his assistance with other matchfixing cases.

The 25-year-old had impressed during his time with FORZE after signing for the team in 2023, but was benched in March 2024 after ESIC announced his ban.

gokushima’s ban reduced

gokushima had continued to play for FORZE up until his ban was announced by the Esports Integrity Commission, with his final match coming on the day of the announcement. Although the specific incidents were never reported by ESIC, the articles of the Code of Conduct that were breached were confirmed:

2.1 Corruption:

2.1.1 Fixing or contriving in any way or otherwise influencing improperly, or being a party to any effort to fix or contrive in any way or otherwise influence improperly, the result, progress, conduct, or any other aspect of any Match.

2.2 Betting:

2.2.1 Betting on any Match, including matches that you were a professional participant in during the ESL IEM events as detailed in the infringements above.

2.2.2 Facilitating, aiding, abetting or otherwise assisting any party in committing acts described in 2.2.1.

2.4.2 to 2.4.5 Failing to disclose to the ESIC a full and true disclosure of all the facts and Page 2 of 2 circumstances with respect to acts described in 2.1 and 2.2.

The ban was initially meant to last from March 27, 2024, to March 26, 2026, but in a statement put out by ESIC, Gokushima’s ban was reduced since the pro player “provided material assistance to ESIC, including information and corroboration that supported subsequent enforcement actions against other participants.”

gokushima’s assistance aided ESIC in issuing bans against a number of players, with Aleksandr “Ruler” Maximov, Dmitriy “propleh” Senigov, and Petr “timeagento” Markheev all receiving five-year bans. Egor “zLy” Polyakov also received a lifetime ban for his breaches of the Code of Conduct.

With gokushima’s ban now nullified, it’s currently unclear what his next move will be. He is still contracted to FORZE, but the Russian organization no longer has a team in Counter-Strike 2. He is the only player who remains under contract.