Counter-Strike Pro Players Banned For Cheating

The world of professional gaming is in a bit of an upheaval, with multiple professional Counter-Strike players finding themselves banned after being discovered cheating. The spat is said to have started when the E-Sports Entertainment Association's tools banned Simon "smn" Beck for cheating. This caught the attention of Valve, which then received details from the ESEA and used that to upgrade its own anti-cheat tools. That, then, resulted in multiple players being caught, including professionals players.

The cheats being used were said to offer aim assist, and for some players to also provide aid in making otherwise problematic shots. Among the gamers caught were Gordon "SF" Giry and Hovik "KQLY" Tovmassian, according to Kotaku. Both Tovmassian and Giry were kicked from their teams after probes into the claims revealed both had used unspecified third-party tools.

According to Beck, 30- to 40-percent of professional players are using the third-party tools, though that has not been verified. He also reportedly released a list of other pro-level gamers who are allegedly using the cheats, though again that cannot be verified.

Unfortunately, both the Epsilon and Titan teams — to which Giry and Tovmassian belonged — have been banned from competing in DreamHack Winter 2014, which kicks off on Thursday. The incident is being compared to scandals in other sports where athletes have been discovered using performance-enhancing drugs.

SOURCE: Kotaku