The entire professional Counter-Strike scene caught fire shortly after the ESL One Cologne 2020 Online tournament ended for all regions, offering clutch plays and fantastic highlights with a bevy of matches that were simply electric. The following fall-out has similarly not disappointed, although the scene is now mired in controversy and murky allegations.
At one head of the hydra, however, is coaches that were caught cheating, and it’s far more widespread than anyone could have guessed.
By exploiting a bug, coaches spectate from anywhere on the map (remaining stationary), and would pass information to their team using this bug. Effectively shutting down any strategic play, as they could relay the positions of competitors that allowed for an absurd advantage for the cheating team.
Here’s how the exploit looks in action by Hard Legion, one of the teams indicted by multiple tournament organizers along with ESL:
Hard Legion is one of many: MIBR has similarly used the exploit to the further chagrin of Brazilian CS fans.
That MIBR had weaponized their fan base against Chaos EC (who turned out to be a top contender within the current form of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive) while claiming that players had cheated against them, and then this comes to light, isn’t a good look. Gaules, a popular Brazilian Twitch streamer that ensured that pressure was levied upon Chaos EC from MIBR fanbase, has even begun to distance himself from the team.
The clips of the bug used by MIBR are out there now, I’m going to describe my fealings on the matter: Like a father that wishes his son didnt made a huge mistake like this. I cant nor I want to be this person. Sadly things cant be the way we wish them to be. – Gaules via Twitter
FURIA, the Brazilian darling for their consistent fair-play and upholding common ethics, have recently been alleged to participate in the bug as well, as shown in the clip embedded within this tweet.
It’s currently unknown precisely how many teams used this bug to offer their own team an advantage; referees and officials both are poring over well over a thousand videos of play to figure out who used the exploit and will receive a punishment. ESL officials have stated that they will not be releasing the evidence as they don’t want a fury to descend on the teams responsible.
Officials are requesting those that have exploited the bug to come forward to save countless man-hours of work sifting through the massive repository.
The Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) has handed out sanctions for those caught thus far in the scandal. Note that all bans are from ESIC member events.
- Ricardo ‘dead’ Sinigaglia – MIBR – Six-month ban
- Nicolai ‘ HUNDEN’ Petersen – Heroic – Twelve-month ban
- Aleksandr ‘MechanoGun’ Bogatyrev – Hard Legion – Twenty-four-month ban
While the coaches have received removal from competitive play, some are calling for further sanctions; specifically against the active rosters that knowingly participated in the cheat to gain a competitive advantage.
We’re currently in the midst of sorting through all of the evidence, and this controversy appears to be nowhere near complete. Even using programs to automatically sort through videos, and having a multitude of people running through the recorded matches, there’s a lot of information to sort through at the moment.
When this begins to quiet down, we’ll be able to take a closer, nuanced look at precisely what happened and how. For now, heads are rolling downhill as many formerly-respected members of the community lose their luster.
