joel sidelined for BLAST Fall Showdown; Victory Zigzag coach Hardwell to stand in
joel's provisional suspension by the ESIC means he is not eligible for selection at the BLAST Fall Showdown.

BLAST has announced that Victory Zigzag will utilize their coach, Ivan "Hardwell" Alekseev, in place of Joel "joel" Holmlund for the team's upcoming run through the Fall Showdown.
The decision comes as a result of joel's provisional suspension by the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) on September 20, which stems from allegations of match-fixing.
Given that BLAST is partnered with the ESIC, joel will be unable to play in BLAST tournaments until the commission finalizes its investigation into the allegations on or after October 6. joel can submit further evidence until that date if he wishes to challenge ESIC's provisional ruling.

The international roster earned their Fall Showdown berth by winning Pelaajat Nordic Masters Fall, where they notably defeated MOUZ, ECSTATIC, and 416Olsk.
joel put on a show during his team's run through the qualifier, averaging a superlative 1.48 rating over seven maps to end the tournament as the highest-rated player. His provisional suspension by ESIC comes as a big blow for Victory Zigzag, who will be without their star as they ready up for the single-elimination Showdown bracket.

BLAST Premier Fall Showdown Europe will go live on October 4-8 and notably features the likes of ENCE, G2, and Cloud9, three top-10 sides who will undoubtedly be fighting tooth and nail for the lone BLAST Fall Final berth up for grabs.
Victory Zigzag will field the following roster for BLAST Premier Fall Showdown:
Kamen "bubble" Kostadinov
Daniel "mertz" Mertz
Nicolaj "mupzG" Djurhus
Dmitriy "propleh" Senigov
Ivan "Hardwell" Alekseev (stand-in)