Apart from spamming “VAC” in Twitch Chat, now and then hackusation’s rear their ugly heads on either Reddit or HLTV.org. Most people knock them off as disgruntled fans of the losing team, but sometimesa case arrives where these actions can no longer be ignored, and more crucially, the same players keep being accused of using third-party programs which aid their abilities.

After each major competitions a number of videos and clips start popping up of players who make inhuman movements and seem to “lock-on” player’s heads behind walls, and out of the field of view. Again, this could be knocked off as mouse movement, but can we continue to ignore these uncharacteristic movements?



This is the latest accusation against G2 eSports player shox who had some uncharacteristic movements in last night’s grand final of ECS. Take note at 15 seconds.

Tinfoil hats on, please

Believe it or not, conspiracy theorists within certain communities believe there is rampant cheating going on within the professional CS:GO scene. A VAC ban wave two years ago caught out a number of top players who perhaps became a little over-confident in their secrecy and slipped up allowing these hacks to be caught. Of course, this lead to an outbreak of accusations which turned the CS:GO community inside out. Theorists then brought forward the idea that major tournament hosts and even Valve are aware of these third-party programs which surpass Valve’s anti-cheat software, and this ring is both profitable for players and the developers of these hacks, with the hosts receiving their cut to turn a blind eye.

This is just one of the larger conspiracies out there, but we can take it with a pinch of salt, as it’s most likely run by the inner gaming circle division of the Illuminati.

However, are Valve and tournament hosts doing anything to put our minds at ease? Unfortunately, no.

Thorin investigates

eSports personality, and CS:GO panel regular Duncan “Thorin” Shields addressed this issue in his latest vlog. Unfortunately, shorter than his usually discussions, Thorin sheds light on the number of clips he’s received and he can’t help but speak on these “freak” movement he’s seen in the past few years keep resurfacing with the same names attached. No longer able to ignore certain individuals in the professional scene, Thorin thinks Valve need a cheating expert, and no your ex-partner does not qualify.

Thorin discusses the lack of experts being present at both tournaments and Valve headquarters who could easily catch these cheats. He goes as far as to say it’s not even the responsibility of tournaments, but rather that of Valve to rid the world of nasty cheats in the professional CS:GO scene, if there are any. We have to add an aura of speculation to this allegation as there is no defining evidence, but rather really suspicious moments within major tournaments. Valve’s Anti-Cheat software (VAC), while it catches universal cheating software, may struggle to catch private cheats as developers remain ahead of Valve in their development. Thorin explains that these cheats may even be made for one player alone, with others receiving similar private cheats which makes detection nearly impossible.

In summary, it’s clear that Valve do need an expert to deal with the accusations flooding public forums after each tournament. Whether this person applies physical methods to catching cheats, such as mouse cameras matching player movement with on-screen, or developing software which catches these programs. It would be an absolute nightmare if a number of players were caught, and I fear this would kill the competitive CS:GO scene in the same way that matchfixing ruined the SC2 scene. Integrity of the game would be ruined, but something has to be done to put everyone’s mind at ease.

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