Illegal coaching exploit was used by at least 10 CSGO teams

M Alzamora Published 18/09/2020

News of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive’s coaching exploit has rocked the competitive scene, with up to 15 teams being investigated by the Esports Integrity Coalition for cheating.

The exploit has been patched out of the game, but it originally started as a simple bug that was fixed with a server restart. At some point, someone realized that it could be triggered intentionally in order to give coaches a bird’s eye view of the map, which allowed them to track the enemy team. Some coaches who have admitted to using the exploit said they found themselves stuck in the position unintentionally and used it minimal times without ever triggering it on purpose. Others, however, were caught after freelance referees Michal Slowinski and Steve Dudenhoeffer independently reviewed “thousands of demos” to catch the offenders. Continued work by both has revealed it has been used since at least 2015.

Below is a list of teams and coaches that have been punished for using the bug.

List of CSGO coaches and teams found using CSGO coaching exploit

• Aleksandr “MechanoGun” Bogatiryev – Two year ESL Ban, fired from Hard Legion Esports
• Nicholai “HUNDEN” Petersen – One year ban ESL Ban, suspended from Team Heroic
• Ricardo “dead” Sinigaglia – Six-month ESL Ban, released by MIBR
• Aset “K23” Sembiyev – suspended by K23
• Ivan “F_1N” Kochugov – suspended by Gambit Youngsters
• Slaava “Twista” Rasanen – suspended by ENCE
• Allan “Rejin” Petersen – admitted to using bug under mousesports
• Arthur “prd” Resende – admitted to using bug under Red Canids
• Faruk “pita” Pita – admitted to using bug under Ninjas in Pyjamas
• Peter “⁠casle⁠” Sørensen – admitted to using bug under Team Singularity

Any team that was found to be using the exploit in a Regional Ranking tournament had all of its tournament points revoked, a hard it for the teams that were positioned to reach the next CSGO major.

As fans wait for the results of the ESIC investigation, it’s more likely than not that more coaches will be implicated in the investigation. 

Updated September 18, 2020.

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 Stage 3 preview: who’s making it to the playoffs? Owen Harsono The IEM Cologne Major is the biggest tournament of the year, and after two stages of play, it’s finally time to unleash the big boys. Stage 3 will feature the 16 best teams in the world, but only eight can advance to the Playoffs and play on the big stage. Here’s our IEM Cologne Major Stage 3 preview. Before we got to Stage 3, a lot of things happened in ...

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, ...