The tournament operator ESL announced the results of an investigation into the abuse of a "smoke" bug during the ESL One Raleigh 2025 qualifiers. The event organizers shared the results on the company's official website. 

Previously, the team NAVI Junior, which had qualified for the championship, was disqualified for repeatedly using this bug. Their spot in the championship was taken by AVULUS. You can find more details about the incident in our special report.                                

The investigation revealed that other teams, including Tundra Esports, Team Spirit, and 9Pandas, also used this bug. However, upon review, it was established that not all cases of bug usage were systematic. As a result, ESL decided to apply sanctions to the teams depending on the degree of bug abuse:

• Systematic abuse: 9Pandas (160 times), NAVI Junior (115 times), Aurora Gaming (50 times);
• Moderate abuse: Passion UA (17 times), One Move (12 times), Virtus.Pro (11 times), Winter Bear (9 times), Tundra Esports (9 times), Team Spirit (7 times), Team Secret (5 times);
• Minor abuse: Wildcard, Shopify Rebellion, Natus Vincere;
• Incidental use: Nigma Galaxy, Talon Esports, Gaimin Gladiators, M80.

After evaluating the bug abuse, the three teams that used it systematically were disqualified. These teams are 9Pandas, NAVI Junior, and Aurora Gaming. For other teams that used the bug less actively, measures such as warnings and fines were applied.

ESL emphasized that it will closely monitor such incidents in the future and urged all teams to adhere to fair play rules. The organizers also noted plans to strengthen measures to prevent the use of similar bugs in official matches going forward.

The ESL One Raleigh 2025 tournament will take place from April 7 to 13 in the USA, with teams competing for a prize pool of $1,000,000. You can follow the news, schedule, and results of the tournament via this link.