Cloud9’s HObbit Fixed Games, Former Teammate Says

Rustam “⁠5TRYK#R⁠” Alimkulov, a retired Counter-Strike: Global Offensive athlete, has dug some dirt on a former teammate. According to 5TRYK#R, Abay “Hobbit” Khasenov who now plays for Cloud9 tried to fix matches seven years ago.

The Whole PARTY Squad Fixed Games

According to the esports news outlet Dexerto, 5TRYK#R and HObbit used to play together as the unsigned roster PARTY. It is back then that HObbit tried to fix one of their games, 5TRYK#R claims. HObbit and the rest of the team allegedly planned to bet against their team during the pistol rounds and lose on purpose. The teammates planned to lose each first pistol round of the three group stage matches.

5TRYK#R said that one of their teammates foiled the plans as they spread information about what PARTY was about to do. The fraud didn’t go very far because the bookmaker canceled the bets and eventually banned the whole roster from its platform. If it hadn’t, each bettor would have won about $5,000 for the fixed game.

To prove his point, 5TRYK#R showed old chat logs where he discussed match-fixing with HObbit. 5TRYK#R also shared a TeamSpeak recording where the whole PARTY squad talked about the fraud. Lastly, he provided screenshots of the bookmaker’s website.

5TRYK#R said that the match-fixing attempts are what made him give up on playing for PARTY.

HObbit Denied the Accusations

PARTY eventually fell apart as the roster failed to achieve any significant successes. HObbit, however, persisted and managed to climb the competitive ladder. Thanks to his determination, he got to play for some of the most notable teams in CS:GO esports.

After leaving PARTY, HObbit successfully joined Gambit and even helped the team win the PGL Kraków Major in 2017. HObbit eventually left the team and had short stints with HellRaisers and Winstrike. In the end, he returned to Gambit and helped the organization win a few more tournaments. Gambit sold its roster to Cloud9 this April, which is exactly how HObbit found himself under C9’s banner.  

When HObbit heard his former teammate’s allegations, he denied all of them. The player insists that he has never been involved in match-fixing and said that he will gladly work together with the Esports Integrity Committee to prove his point.

All that I have achieved, I earned with my hard work and perseverance. My reputation is above all to me.

Abay “HObbit” Khasenov, Cloud9 player

The ESIC will now review the old conversation logs that 5TRYK#R provided and will determine whether HObbit is guilty of attempting to fix games.