Vladislav “Krad” Kravchenko is in trouble as an in-game skin he used sparked outrage among fans and led to his ban from ESL Challenger League (ECL) Season 49 in Europe.
Krad is a professional Russian Counter-Strike 2 player and a former Counter-Strike: Global Offensive player, and is currently playing for 9Pandas. The CS2 player is known for his aggressive playing style and strategic gameplay. He has achieved some success in his career and is in part credited for the past success of the Russian team FORZE Esports.
Krad now finds himself in hot water because of an offensive skin and drew attention to during a match. The player faced immediate backlash from fans and was also banned from ESL. Krad has since confirmed that ESL has decided to increase his suspension after further investigation. Here’s why.
Krad admitted that the duration of his ECL ban has been changed from the previous two weeks to a full month-long suspension.
Krad stated that his ban was reviewed and ESL decided to make his suspension more severe, increasing his punishment. The CS2 player advised others not to repeat his mistake and to learn from him. He went on to express his regret at not being able to play for a full month and said that “The price is high.”
Fans speculated that Krad’s suspension may have been because he was allegedly switching to the right-hand model when using a Desert Eagle skin with a racial epithet displayed on it, which specifically featured the display of the skin. This went against the CS pro’s claim that he hadn’t noticed the offensive sticker on the skin. Most fans are happy that ESL has taken prompt action and is giving a more severe punishment for the offense. They are hopeful that other players will now be wary and will not repeat something like this in the future.
Krad was banned from ESL for a month because he used an in-game skin with a racist sticker during a match played on January 21.
During an official ECL match, Krad used a Desert Eagle skin that displayed a racist epithet. Writer and podcaster Ludvig “quacke” Nilsson noticed the offense and shared it on X. The tweet went viral and Krad faced a massive backlash from within the Counter-Strike community. ESL took swift action by banning the CS pro for two weeks.
Before he was banned, Krad stated in a tweet that he had only recently bought the Desert Eagle skin and hadn’t noticed the offensive sticker. The CS player claimed that he plays with the left-hand model so the sticker wasn’t noticeable. But it later became clear that Krad had made a point of displaying the skin in-game, running counter to his claim that he was unaware of its offensive material and leading to an increase to his suspension from the ECL competition in Europe by ESL.
9Pandas will now have to continue on without Krad in the lineup, though he is slated to return to competitive play under the ESL banner next month.
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