Maniac moves away from EPL S20 following sexual assault allegations

Swiss Counter-Strike analyst and caster Mathieu 'Maniac' Quiquerez has taken a step back from the ongoing ESL Pro League Season 20 broadcast, following multiple women coming ahead and accusing Maniac of sexual assault.

The incident was brought to light earlier last evening when esports journalist Hannah Marie took to the social media platform X, to allege that Maniac had 'sexually assaulted' her at a Counter-Strike afterparty, earlier in the summer of 2024. Marie states that she was 'repeatedly groped, inappropriately touched, grinded on, and grabbed despite clear discomfort and no reciprocation from herself' by Maniac during the afterparty. She said Maniac was intoxicated but 'appeared to be very much aware of his actions', and was 'particularly deliberate with his early grabbing and groping', which shocked her. She states this went on between 11pm and 2am.

While Marie gave a detailed explanation about the events of the night and also mentioned that she had reported it to a 'relevant company', she did not reveal the company or the event at which the incident took place.

While Marie released the statement, Maniac was on-air during the FaZe vs FlyQuest game in the ongoing ESL Pro League Season 20 season, and moved back from the broadcast at the time, without an official statement. Shortly after, Maniac released his own statement, responding to Marie's allegations.

In his statement, Maniac revealed that he has a 'drastically different recollection of the events' which took place that night. He initially stated that he arrived at afterparty later than what Marie had stated (Maniac states he reached the venue at 00:30 am, while Marie states the assault took place between 11pm and 02:00 am). He also states that both individuals flirted for a while 'under the understanding that it was mutual'.

He additionally said that it was possible that Marie changed her mind (on the flirtation) during the interaction between the two and he 'missed the cues'. He ended by saying that he 'doesn't accept the version (shared by Marie) as the truth' but she has the right to experience them and he wouldn't fight back on that'. He signed off by saying he is voluntarily removing himself from ESL Pro League Season 20 for the 'sake of the broadcast' as he refuses to take the attention off Counter-Strike.

After Maniac's statement, another esports personnel, Daisy 'DAMP' Powers, a host and interviewer, shared her story about her experience with Maniac. Powers said that she had also been 'groped' by Maniac and also 'chased across the dance floor' at the same event. She states that it was 'clearly non-consensual' and she had tried to escape various times. Powers also says that Maniac's response 'entirely warps the truth and Hannah (Marie) was not at all engaging with him in that manner.'

At the time of publication, Maniac has not put out any official statement on the response from Powers.

After Powers' allegations, her fiancé, Jack 'Jacky' Peters, another esports caster, put out a short video where he spoke about witnessing the incident of Maniac sexually assaulting Powers and other women at the event. He also says that Maniac did not 'own up' to the groping and tried to follow Powers to a different location as well and Peters and his friends had to body block Maniac.

Peters also mentions in his video that Maniac's response to Maries' allegations is a lie.

A report on the matter on HLTV states that the event during which the sexual assault took place is the BLAST Premier Spring Final, which was held in June 2024, according to sources.

While there has been no statement on the matter from BLAST yet, a esports.gg report on the matter stated that ESL FACEIT GROUP provided them with a statement which read,

We are aware of allegations made against an on-broadcast talent who has appeared on EFG’s analyst desk this year. While this incident did not take place at an EFG event, the safety of fans, players, and staff is our No. 1 priority. We are investigating the matter, and moving forward, the talent will no longer be part of the ongoing broadcast of ESL Pro League.
ESL FACEIT GROUP's response to esports.gg