In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive , 37 coaches have been caught cheating and banned for months. However, some CS:GO teams are circumventing this ban. This has now drawn criticism. This is a joke, says the coach of FaZe.
This is why the coaches were banned: A week ago, we reported on MeinMMO that an ethics commission banned 37 coaches from professional teams in CS:GO. They were caught using video footage to exploit an exploit to gain an advantage for their team.
The coaches were able to freely move around the map through an exploit, gather information about opposing teams, and relay that to their team.
The exploitation of this exploit dates back to 2017.
Bans against the coaches range from a few months to 3 years depending on the severity and number of offenses. During this time, the coaches are prohibited from doing a number of things:
- they may not speak with their teams 15 minutes before match start in CS:GO
- they may not be physically present at the match and must leave the venue 15 minutes before the start
- they cannot be on the gaming server
- they cannot be in the match channel on Discord
- they cannot participate in the map selection
In principle, banned coaches are not allowed to influence a “live match” just before it starts until its conclusion.
These are similar conditions to those that banned football coaches receive, who are often shown sitting in the stands, watching, and sulking.
“We love him and he is our boy”
So some teams are reacting: When the first bans came in early September 2020, teams quickly distanced themselves from their coaches. However, during the big wave of bans now, some teams have been much more relaxed about it.
The Danish team Heroic continues to employ its banned coach Nicolai “HUNDEN” Petersen. The 29-year-old coach had exploited the bug in 21 rounds and was one of the coaches who was caught in the first wave of bans. He was initially banned for 12 months – this has been reduced to 8 months.
From Heroic, it is said that HUNDEN will remain in the organization, continuing to work as a coach and analyst (via twitter).
The team says:
“HUNDEN is our boy. We love him and he still has so much to give to the sport. Losing him would not help Heroic, him, or the pro scene.”
Heroic
Other teams do the same: they simply rebrand their banned coaches as “analysts”, who do not directly oversee the team during matches, but still do their work beforehand.
Coach Twista of Ence is also moving to an analyst role for 15.75 months. He was also caught cheating (via dotesport).
“They have tarnished our profession”
This is how it is criticized: The coach of FaZe, Janko “YNk” Paunovic, is one of the coaches who did not cheat. He strongly criticizes the behavior of the teams on Twitter.
He says:
“Some of these teams are really a joke: Their coaches are guilty of having exploited a bug multiple times and clearly to gain a competitive advantage, and you just turn them into analysts? Seriously?”
YNk
The FaZe coach says he has nothing against the coaches personally. They are great guys, but they have tarnished the reputation of the entire scene and especially the role of the coach. They should not be allowed to remain part of the teams.
He is in favor of giving people second chances, but first, they must face the consequences of what they have done.
He asks: What kind of example do you want to set otherwise?
The coaches need to take the time to reflect on what they have done, and only then can they earn a second chance to make amends.
YNk also addresses a sensitive topic: so far, only coaches have been punished, but not teams. It is said officially that the ethics commission cannot verify if the teams were involved in any cheating.
YNk says: “It is impossible that players did not know what was going on,” when it has happened in so many matches.
This topic is sensitive because the CS:GO scene would likely be shaken if not only 37 coaches were banned, but suddenly 200 of the best players in the world. Because then they could hardly be employed as “analysts” anymore.
Everything sounds like “Fun and Games” in video games, but being an esports player is a job and can be quite lucrative. A scene and business have developed around e-sports. CS:GO is among the 5 most successful titles:
5 games you can play professionally if you are very good
The title image comes from Dreamhack, showing Hunden, the “coach” of Heroic, who is now an analyst.
