Olivia Richman 
Counter-Strike 2 caster Mathieu “Maniac” Quiquerez has admitted to sexually assaulting women after initially denying the accustaions, and now Maniac appears headed out of the CS2 scene.
Maniac previously denied ever having sexually assaulted anyone, claiming he had a “different recollection” of how a BLAST Premier Spring Final after-party went. Esports journalist Hannah Marie tweeted on September 4 that Maniac had spent the majority of the party groping and touching her despite her showing him that she was uncomfortable.
“Although Maniac was intoxicated, he appeared very much aware of his actions for at least the first hour of the incident occurring,” Marie wrote. “He was particularly deliberate with his early grabbing and groping, which came as a complete shock to me.”
After her accusations went public, Maniac even claimed he wasn’t in the same area as Marie at certain points in an attempt to poke holes in her side of the story. He then noted that he thought it had all been consensual and called her post “misleading” while reiterating, “This isn’t who I am.”
As more women have come forward with similar accounts and accusations, Maniac has decided to change his story and delete his social accounts.
What happened to Maniac and his social accounts?
Maniac appears to have dipped out of public view after admitting to sexually harassing women and deleting his social media accounts. Despite initially claiming to be innocent, Maniac decided to step down from casting CS2 for the rest of ESL Pro league Season 20. Now Maniac has shared a more in-depth post in which he admitted to hurting others. He claimed that the original tweet he sent was an unfinished draft.
Before deleting his socials, Maniac shared on X that he’s been struggling with alcoholism for most of his adult life. Part of his behavior while drunk is a “need for promiscuity, to be seen, to be wanted” due to having a broken childhood, he explained.
“This led to unacceptable behaviors over the years for which I am truly sorry,” Maniac wrote. “Sorry doesn’t even begin to cover it. Social media have allowed me to cowardly desensitize human interactions as if nothing really happened.”
Maniac went on to claim that sexual assault and other behaviors were an “escape” for him, but that he never wanted to “hurt anyone.” Now, Maniac is hoping to “reassess” his life and who he is while also reflecting on letting the CS2 community down.
The response to Maniac’s tweet has been largely negative across social media. Many felt as though he used alcohol as an excuse to attack women. Others felt he was running away in hopes the drama would blow over while he was gone. Some fans wished him well.
