Counter-Strike is on fire from multiple sources, but the biggest news right now (with the largest possible repercussions for the scene as a whole) is the coaching spectating bug that ESIC has been investigating for roughly a month, spanning 25,000 matches as far back as 2015.
As it becomes clear that harsh punishments are incoming for organizations that exploited the bug to their advantage, some coaches and players have begun stating that they’re brought the bug to the attention of Valve years ago.
Some were surprised to hear that the bug was still ongoing, and others seem to insinuate that the length of time Valve allegedly has had to fix the bug should result in relative impunity for coaches and staff.
A bizarre statement, at best.
Thus brings the arrival of Duncan ‘Thorin’ Shields encouraging those who have brought the bug forwards to the attention of Valve to produce evidence and bring it to whichever outlet they prefer, to at least publicize the attempts to communicate the exploit with Valve; it wouldn’t expunge any wrongdoing from involved parties, but it can help establish a timeline of how long this has been an issue.
Further, the ESIC are close to publishing their results that will likely name and shame all involved parties that didn’t step forward during the ‘Confession era’ that ESIC admins have named.
I would advise coaches and players who claim to have contacted Valve and TOs about the coaching bug years ago to show any evidence you have of such behaviour to credible journalists.
Right now few will believe you, for obvious reasons.
— Thorin (@Thorin) September 19, 2020
Yet even offering solid proof of showing the bug to Valve could mean little in the current stage of the game: ESIC edges closer to showing their results and consequences are sure to be swift and wide-spread in a decision that could drastically alter the history of the professional Counter-Strike scene, from tournament standings to eligibility to play in further Majors.
Valve themselves have stated that ‘any teams that were disqualified for exploiting this bug during an RMR event will have their RMR points reset’, yet are going to stay their hand regarding punishments for guilty actors until ‘third-party’ (ESIC) hands out their penalties. Further, they are considering ‘limitations to coaching’; a consequence of the circumstance that was predicted early and often in the beginning of the ongoing scandal.
The ESIC is expected to conclude their investigation, and thus publish their findings, on October 1. Whether the report will be delayed after the expected conclusion on October 1, notated by an EISC tweet stating that the investigation will last for four weeks (published on September 3), or immediately released that Thursday, is currently unknown.
Three individuals have already received penalties for their usage of the exploit to gain an advantage.
