Orange banned for a year in harassment case

Orange, widely known to the public for his performances in the Hearthstone discipline, received a ban for a year in a harassment case. According to the Swedish esportsman, this mistake of the past cost him the future, for which he apologized.

I have been suspended from participating in Hearthstone tournaments due to a mistake in my past for which I take full responsibility. I was not notified of this decision. So all I ask is that you give me some time to sort this out.

Needless to say, I'm devastated by this. But I don't want it to look like I'm looking for sympathy. Please just keep your assumptions and judgments to yourself for now. It's not something that's easy to talk about and I want to make sure I'm doing it right. Thanks for understanding.

Orange later posted an apology, briefly explaining the situation, as well as announcing his departure from the gaming scene to work on himself, acknowledging the seriousness of the accusations and saying that not all of them are true.

It is very difficult for me to explain this, but 4 years ago I touched a person without his consent. Let me be very clear, there is no excuse for this and nothing I say here is an attempt to justify my actions. I take full responsibility for what I did and for the subsequent consequences of it.

Something I need to point out before I begin is that while the allegations I admitted are true, the rest of them are not. These allegations are very serious, so while it may sound bad manners to talk about it, I think it's important to be clear about it from the start.

I would not like to expand on this incident here, as there are public documents that most of you have probably seen. I do not deny anything that I said there, and I do not deny the seriousness of what I confessed. This is something I will never forgive myself for, and I don't expect either of you to do the same.

I should mention that I haven't spoken to the victim since the incident. Firstly, all this was said in court, and I really expressed remorse for my actions there. Secondly, the allegations made were very serious and caused me a lot of pain, highlighting the possibility of being convicted for something I didn't do, which was hard to digest even to this day.

I'm so sorry things turned out this way.

Orange appeared on the scene in 2014. During his career, the Swedish esportsman became the winner of ESL Hearthstone Legendary Series 2015 - Katowice, DreamHack Summer 2017 and Titanar Hearthstone Elite Invitational 2018, earning about $300,000 in prize money.

According to court documents, Orange was charged in April 2019 with one count of sexual harassment and another with a minor drug offense in an April 2018 incident in the Swedish city of Boros involving a woman whose identity remains confidential.. He accepted the plea deal and had to pay legal costs and a 5,000 SEK fine to the victim. However, the rape allegations were dismissed by the court.