Valve Draws Consequences for Stream-sniping and Coach Bug in CS:GO
Last year's CS:GO scandal involving the so-called coach bug, as well as stream-sniping phenomenon that spread across the eSports scene, are still fresh in our minds. After four months, Valve began to take action against the coaches.
- Last year, there were many cases of cheating during CS:GO matches, such as stream-sniping and reliance on coach bug;
- Valve has released a new policy for CS:GO coaches in a new update;
- Coaches taking advantage of the coach bug have been banned from the upcoming Major tournaments.
2020 has not been a kind year for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. The lack of major LAN tournaments due to the pandemic, the necessity to play only online events, the growing competition in the form of Valorant, and the departure of many titled pro players are just some of the many problems plaguing one of Gabe Newell's children.
The real crisis, however, erupted after the dirty tricks of some coaches and teams came to light. In the latest update for CS:GO, Valve announced that the company will be taking action in the wake of recent fair play violations .
Stream-sniping in CS:GO
Stream-sniping, i.e. a situation where players or coaches watch the official broadcast of a CS:GO match while it's taking place, which may help identify rival team's tactics, has been in the news lately. A week ago, Team Vitality was fined for the mere suspicion that they may have stream sniped. As a result, Valve has announced new rules regarding who is allowed to be around players:
"During online matches only players are allowed in the room and on the server. Neither coaches nor any other team staff will be allowed in the room, on the server, or to otherwise communicate with the team during an online match," reads a fragment of new rules
The rule will apply during RMR (Regional Major Ranking) matches. RMR matches include all qualifying tournaments for the most prestigious tournament of the season - the Major.
Ban on Majors
Valve has also taken decisive steps regarding coaches who were caught using the so-called coach bug. Thanks to the glitch in the observer mode it was possible to lock the camera at any point on the map, which enables observers to gain information about the position of the opponent. In September, the Esports Integrity Commission temporarily banned 37 coaches from the games.
Valve decided to further punish the coaches by banning them from Major tournaments. The length of the ban depends on the number of "penalty points" awarded by ESIC:
- 2 penalty points - 1 Major,
- 3 penalty points - 2 Majors,
- 4 penalty points - 3 Majors,
- 5 penalty points - 5 Majors,
- 6 or more penalty points - lifetime ban.
