ESIC will not penalize CSGO cheating after long investigation

M Alzamora Published 07/12/2020

The Esports Integrity Commission, funded by a conglomeration of well-know tournament organizers including ESL and BLAST, has decided to not take any official action against teams, players, and coaches implicated in this past summer’s stream sniping incidents.

The response from the ESIC took months to be released, and did little but reiterate the already established rules that stream sniping isn’t allowed. In other words, so many teams were suspected or caught viewing live streams of matches that the ESIC says that penalizing any teams involved would underming a professional CSGO scene that has already been undermined. There is further cause for concern regarding the ESIC’s response to the months-long investigation, especially in regard to ESIC Commissioner Ian Smith’s statement regarding his decision to not hand out any punishments. 

“It is my view that what is best for for the broader CSGO community, which has already been rocked by serious scandals this year,” Smith said.

ESIC report on coaching still missing, stream sniping announcement lacking

Smith’s CSGO scandals refer to a coaching exploit bug in which coaches were able to gain a bird’s eye view of the game map that included enemy weapons and equipment loadouts. The ESIC banned 37 coaches for varying lengths of time after employing two professional CSGO referees to review thousands of demos by hand for indications that coaches had used the exploit during official games. While the original coaching report was released in September, the ESIC said that it would publish a follow up document to the investigation after consulting with key tournament stakeholders, stakeholders who also pay a premium price to fund the ESIC.

The line between tournament organizer and “Integrity Commission” is growing increasingly thin. Organization’s often take commands from those that write the checks, and its entirely feasible that participant tournament organizers would rather have the matter be burried than continue to interfere with their bottom lines. 

Is the ESIC a third-party integrity operator?

To be clear, The Esports Integrity Commission is not a third-party entity. Despite being labeled as a not-for-profit organization, the ESIC requires a buy-in from tournament organizers based on a percentage of a member’s largest yearly prize pool yearly as a membership fee.

Considering the lack of action of the ESIC’s behalf and the potential financial monetary ramifications of another CSGO controversy, both players and teams may want to tred carefully around the rulings. It’s a disappointing end to what was to be a definitive answer as to who broke CSGO’s most basic rules. Instead, the ESIC simply reiterated that stream sniping is not allowed. The report closed by saying that it would not comment on any teams or personal potentially involved in the decision, but hinted at backdoor deals in its closing statement.

While the ESIC made it clear that they would be avaialable for comment on the matter, communications requests regarding both CSGO’s coaching exploit and stream sniping investigations have gone unanswered. Smith closed his letter by claiming that it had done its due diligence, but that ultimately it’s the players and teams who will have to be the ones to make a final judgement.

“ESIC has fulfilled its purpose to protect esports integrity by acting as we have, but those coaches, players[,] and teams we have given a pass to by this decision have been warned we are watching them closely,” Smith closed.

Below is a PDF version on of the announcement posted in a series of images on Twitter in leiu of an official press release. 

ESIC Final Report on Professional CSGO Streamsniping by Nick Johnson on Scribd

M Alzamora

About M Alzamora

There are few things that writer M Alzamora loves more in life than Pokemon. And there are even fewer things that she loves more than her favorite Pokemon, Eevee. But M’s appreciation for gaming isn’t just limited to Nintendo’s famous pocket monsters. She’s interested in every type of game across every genre of gaming, and she has the credentials to prove it. M’s work has also been seen on Working Classicists and gaming sites.

View full profile

Read Also

Counter-Strike

IEM Cologne Major 2026 CS2 Stage 3 Pick’Em Predictions Owen Harsono It’s that time of the year again, as the next Counter-Strike 2 Major is right around the corner. The IEM Cologne 2026 Major is set to start on June 2, meaning you still have some time to lock in your Pick’Em predictions. The Pick’Em Challenge is one of the most exciting parts of the CS2 Majors, as it allows you to test your knowledge and predict which teams make it ...

Counter-Strike

Team Spirit concede just 10 rounds in Stage 2 of the IEM Cologne Major Owen Harsono It was pretty weird seeing Team Spirit having to start the IEM Cologne Major from Stage 2, but they quickly proved why that was a mistake. With donk shooting on all fronts, the Eastern Europeans speed ran the competition to book their spot in Stage 3. With how they’ve been playing, it’s hard not to wonder whether they can actually win the entire thing. These boys can sometimes be known ...

Counter-Strike

BIG pull off 0-12 comeback to stay alive – IEM Cologne Major Stage 1 recap Owen Harsono We’ve just witnessed arguably the worst choke in Counter-Strike Major history, and we’re only on the first stage of the IEM Cologne Major. If you didn’t tune into the Stage 1 matches, here’s what you need to know heading into Stage 2. Many fans tend to underestimate Stage 1 teams for fair reasons, but some survivors in this tournament look extremely promising. Two Eastern European teams, BetBoom Team and B8, ...

Counter-Strike

Who will win the IEM Cologne Major 2026? Owen Harsono If you’re looking to play it safe and back one team at the Counter-Strike 2 IEM Cologne 2026 Major, traders prediction markets platforms have a clear frontrunner – it’s Team Vitality. But if it’s not meant to be, there are a few other candidates that could lift the trophy. Here’s what traders on Polymarket and Kalshi think. If you haven’t been watching CS2 this year and are only jumping on ...

Counter-Strike

The 10 best CS2 players who have never won a Major Owen Harsono In Counter-Strike, winning a Major immediately puts you into legend status. It’s an achievement that proves you won the game’s biggest trophy. However, there have been some really good players that could never get their hands on the biggest trophy that Counter-Strike esports has to offer. Here is WIN.gg's list of best CS2 players who have never won a Major. ScreaM is one of Counter-Strike's most famous players for one ...

Counter-Strike

IEM Cologne Major 2026: All the teams, favorites, and outright betting odds Owen Harsono Mark your calendars, as the IEM Cologne Major kicks off on June 2, 2026. We’re going to see the best teams in the world compete, but which ones are actually favored to take the title? This will be the first time in 10 years that IEM Cologne will return as a Counter-Strike Major, so the stakes this year are much higher than they’ve been in a decade. In this guide, ...

Esports Betting

All IEM Cologne winners and rosters in Counter-Strike history Owen Harsono IEM Cologne is one of Counter-Strike’s biggest events, happening every single year. Some seasons, the event is labeled as one of Valve’s two Counter-Strike Majors of the year, but if not, still stands as one of the big events every player chases to win. With the IEM Cologne 2026 Major right around the corner, let’s take a trip down memory lane and check out every single winner of the tournament, ...