Player detained for stealing SSDs at IEM Dallas
Former Elevater stand-in, Adam "nbgee12" Zanzoul, was detained by authorities at IEM Dallas 2024 in the early hours of May 31st after trespassing and stealing several solid-state drives (SSDs) designated for player use. As reported by Dust2.us
nbgee12 Detained
Due to his behavior over the IEM Dallas weekend, the former Elevate stand-in was not allowed to attend the tournament and was permanently banned from the FACEIT platform.
nbgee12 admitted he gained access to an unsecured backstage production area where he was able to steal Jake "Stewie2K" Yip, Nikola "NiKo" Kovač, and Guy "NertZ" Iluz's SSDs.
Following a string of incidents involving the player, nbgee12 has been permanently banned from participating on the most popular platform in North America. A permanent ban for match-fixing in the FPL-C qualifier on ESEA, a ban from the FACEIT Pro League for match evasion, and a history of disrespectful and unprofessional behavior both in person and online are just a few of the previous occurrences.
The 19-year-old semi-professional player's perplexing choice was made just sixty days after nbgee12's 100-year ban evasion suspension was overturned by ESL as a result of changing platform standards.
Dust2.us had verified through several sources that nbgee12 had entered the premises and taken part in SSD theft at the IEM Dallas 2024 on May 31st. However, in an odd and unwise legal move, nbgee12 appeared on stream yesterday to talk about the incident with Take Flyte player and streamer Collin "CoJoMo" Moren to discuss the incident.
nbgee12's Input
During an extended conversation with CoJoMo, nbgee12 disclosed that he had gained entry to a backstage production room at IEM Dallas 2024, where he had taken the SSDs of NertZ, NiKo, and Stewie2K from a stack of larger SSDs. Subsequently, he acknowledged returning the drives to his room at the Omni Dallas Hotel. It's vital to remember that there is a sky-bridge connecting the Omni Dallas Hotel to the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.
At the outset of the interview, nbgee12 acknowledges that he entered the IEM Dallas 2024 venue late at night, going "somewhere where he wasn't supposed to be" and "taking stuff he wasn't supposed to."
The summary of the situation as nbgee12 recounts, is how he arrived at the location at 4:00 AM local time after hanging out on Discord with an unidentified group of individuals who observed him enter the restricted area and remove the players' SSDs. To prevent tampering and maintain competition integrity, tournament organizers utilize these SSDs to store player configurations, in-game settings, and other critical files. This enables players to quickly switch up their setups.
When this article was published, those that nbgee12 broadcast to on Discord had access to a photo purportedly showing nbgee12 holding Stewie2K's SSD. It was validated that the SSDs match those used at IEM Dallas 2024.
A lackluster justification
Later in the broadcast, nbgee12 says that the Dallas Police Department detained him because ESL used security camera footage to prove he was the one who stole. He even gave CoJoMo a purported photo of him with Dallas Police and ESL personnel in a backstage location. He says that instead of filing charges against him, the police and ESL excluded him from the event.
Prior to the ESL making it permanent, nbgee12's suspension was first set for five years at the time of the stream. In an attempt to justify a shorter suspension before it was extended, nbgee12 offered a disjointed and fabricated explanation that the theft was only trolling, that he is a "moron," and that he had never been arrested or engaged in any similar behavior.
The player's lack of foresight in not stealing from the biggest tournament organizer and several extremely popular players demonstrates an unfathomable level of immaturity, especially considering that the player appears to have a competitive view on Counter-Strike 2 and even attended the PGL Major Copenhagen Americas RMR in March.
Even in the extremely unlikely event that the ESL FACEIT Group decides to lessen nbgee12's ban in the future, his history of stealing from tournament organizers is unlikely to help him, given that he has only ever connected and found common cause with the current Elevate roster, who have previously been shunned for making racist and offensive remarks.
He stated that his activities at the Kay Bailey Convention Center were motivated by his use of marijuana and his irresponsible behavior. He believed that stealing the SSDs would be a far less serious infraction than it actually was.
"Words cannot adequately express how humiliating and dejecting this has been," nbgee12 says in his own words. Sincerely embarrassed by my actions, I'm determined to grow from this encounter."
Featured Image Credits: PGL