The coaches who were banned were under suspicion for exploiting the 'spectator bug' in CS:GO, which allowed them to navigate game maps freely during competitive gameplay while relaying information about opponents' positions to their teams.
‘LMBT’, the coach for the professional CS:GO team Forze, had initially received a ban lasting 7.5 months. After appealing this decision and providing documentary, video, and third-party evidence, ESIC's commissioner found that in two instances where ‘LMBT’ was accused of exploiting the bug, he was not at his computer. In the other cases, he had disconnected in a timely manner and sought assistance from an administrator. Therefore, he did not gain any unfair advantage by exploiting the bug.
As a result of this review, ESIC lifted the sanctions immediately, allowing ‘LMBT’ to resume his coaching role for teams competing in ESIC member events.
Beginning its investigation in September, ESIC imposed professional bans on numerous coaches, restricting their ability to communicate with teams from 15 minutes before matches until their conclusion. The bans varied from four months to three years.
Additionally, coaches were prohibited from being near their teams or present on the game server during official matches, participating in the official match channel on Discord, engaging in the official map veto process, or communicating with their teams throughout the process.
ESIC anticipates that its comprehensive investigation will conclude by the end of October, at which point it will produce another report detailing its findings.
