Multiple teams, BLAST sources dispute NIP CEO's sticker claim

Today in a detail-light tweet, NIP's CEO, Hicham Chahine, claimed that the BLAST.tv Paris Major would have no stickers, a massive and unverified break from a longstanding tradition associated with the Major cycle. Despite his claim being unverified, the news spread like wildfire with many questioning Valve's motives or the veracity of the claim.

Dust2.us has determined that Chahine's tweet was likely a poor attempt at a joke as sources within BLAST have disputed his claim to the publication. Additionally, management at four organizations have told Dust2.us that they were unaware of any changes to teams and players getting in-game stickers.

Adding further evidence to Chahine making this tweet to drum up attention was a later retweet in the vein of the "purposefully spreading misinformation on the internet" meme. As Chinane did not respond to a request for comment by the time of publication to further clarify his statement, in a Snopes-esque fashion, Dust2.us rates this story False.

Chahine decided to update his comment after our publication with a response that he actually had "no info" and was just kidding.