CS:GO coaches banned by ESL Pro League following cheating scandal

The ESL Pro League has banned three coaches from the CS:GO teams Hard Legion, Heroic and MIRB. As per reports, the coaches used a spectator bug to cheat in tournaments, which helps them spectate from anywhere in the map without their competition finding out. The coaches have been banned from a duration of six months to two years. 

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CS:GO cheating: CS:GO coaches banned by ESL Pro League for cheating 

While the bug was mentioned, ESL did not reveal how the bug worked. However, they explained that it can be enabled "by taking a combination of different steps." According to the reports, the coaches used the bug to deliver information to their players that they shouldn't have. The use of the bug violates the ESL's rules. 

"The intentional use of any bugs, glitches, or errors in the game is forbidden. It is up to the admin’s discretion whether or not the use of said bugs had an effect on the match, and whether or not he will award rounds, or the match to the opposing team, or to force a rematch," reads their section 6.10.5 under the column "Use of Bugs and Glitches." They further clarified that if a bug that is not mentioned is used, it will be up to the admin to decide "whether or not a punishment is necessary." As per ESL, they discovered the cheating after closely observing ESL and Dreamhack matches, while they also consulted with CS:GO's parent company Valve. 

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CS:GO coaches who cheated during the ESL Pro League

• Aleksandr "MechanoGun" Bogatiryev of Hard Legion during ESL One Road to Rio – 6 maps in 3 matches
• Nicolai "HUNDEN" Petersen of Heroic during DreamHack Masters Spring – 10 rounds on 1 map
• Ricardo "dead" Sinigaglia of MIBR during ESL One Road to Rio – in 1 round on 1 map

Due to the varied use of the bug, different durations of bans have been imposed. MIBR's coach will be banned for six months, Hunden will be suspended for a year, while MechanoGun will be banned for two years. The bans have also caused all three teams involved to be disqualified from the competition, and have also given up all ESL Pro Tour points and prize money they earned. 

"The individual teams have been contacted and informed. We have also notified other tournament organizers of this and will help them investigate the matches on their end," ESL said. They added that the Esports Integrity Commission (ESIC) will "be issuing separate sanctions with a statement in due course under the ESIC Player Code of Conduct, which was applied at our tournaments and has been breached by these coaches." The ESIC sanctions are applicable to all ESIC Member events and were applicable to the DreamHack and ESL tournaments and leagues. The statement also mentioned that while other coaches also faced the bug, they did not use it. 

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MIBR tweeted after the ban, stating that they will be investigating the claims made by ESL. They confirmed that they have been disqualified from the tournament. Heroic responded to the ban on their website, informing fans that they will be conducting an internal investigation following the cheating scandal. "All questions will be answered at a later point," Heroic wrote. Hard Legion is yet to comment on the ban. 

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(Image credits: ESL Counter-Strike Twitter)