‘Counter Strike: Global Offensive’ Tournament Marred By Exploits

Controversy marred the much-anticipated Counter Strike: Global Offensive tournament at the DreamHack festival last week, after one of the world’s top teams dropped out of the competition following allegations of cheating.

During a quarter-final match against the in-form LDLC from France, the Swedish fnatic team were seen utilizing the infamous ‘boost’ technique — using a teammate’s head as a platform to jump from — to reach a normally inaccessible part of the map, giving them a tactical advantage. Fnatic managed to secure a 16-13 thanks to this neat trick, but were told after play had finished that it would not stand.

While the ‘boost’ technique itself is a normal part of play, the fact that fnatic players were ‘glitching’ outside the map was seen to be contentious. The vantage point allowed them to see far more of the map than usual, giving them an unfair advantage over their opponents.

Tournament officials ruled that the use of an area not intended to be accessible was tantamount to an exploit and ordered a replay, but fnatic opted out and forfeited the match. LDLC went on to face Natus Vincere in the semi-finals, before winning the tournament and its $100,000 prize outright — a triumphant end to a month that’s seen another win and two second place finishes in major tournaments for the team.

With eSports popularity on the up and up, it’s a shame to see such a major competition being blighted by issues like these — particularly. Of course, it’s disappointing for the thousands of fans spectating both in person at the event and on streaming sites like Twitch — but members of the fnatic team have also commented on how situations such as this have contributed to a lack of enjoyment on their part.

Robin ‘flusha’ Rönnquist of fnatic— who has faced accusations of cheating before, which he relates to his unusual mouse movements — took to Facebook to offer his thoughts on the situation, including these comments on the Counter Strike: Global Offensive community.

The only thing the community has managed to get me and my team is alot of undeserved hate… It is just sad that you might have destroyed one of the best teams in the world with your hatred towards my team… I love esports and the joy you can get out of it, the only problem with it is the community and all that they bring, this is why i have never cared about the community, social medias and other stuff like that. I only do these things for the sponsors of my team.

While it’s easy to write off flusha’s comments as sour grapes, some of the backlash he and his teammates have faced in the aftermath of their DreamHack tournament exit lends credence to his criticisms of the community. Cryptic tweets from other members of fnatic have led some to believe that the team might be about to disband — certainly not the outcome they would have wanted from the tournament.

DreamHack celebrated its 20th anniversary this year, and organisers will certainly be hoping that the fallout from this situation doesn’t overshadow the event, and indeed eSports at large. Just last week, controversy arose surrounding unacceptable behavior from some competitors — and a cheating scandal won’t do much to distract from this.

Fnatic are next set for Counter Strike: Global Offensive action when the ESEA Invite Season 17 Global Finals begin on December 5 — it will be very interesting to see how the team perform there.

Source: HLTV

‘Counter Strike: Global Offensive’ Tournament Marred By Exploits