​Editor’s note: Welcome to “Counter-Strike retrospective,” a new series in which Jarek “DeKay” Lewis will look back at major moments that shook the Counter-Strike world. He’ll investigate what happened, its initial effects, the long-term impact and who ended up better or worse in the end. Let us know what you think of the new format (or moments you’d like to see included in future editions. Enjoy!)





On Aug. 18, 2016 Valve implemented a rule change that would transform the identity of professional Counter-Strike. Coaches originally were allowed to communicate in-game with the players at all times. Following the change, coaches were only allowed to talk to their players during tactical timeouts. Valve felt teams were operating with a “sixth player” and didn’t believe that was compatible with their goal to identify the best five-player CS:GO teams at Majors. Most tournament organizers would eventually follow suit and implement the same rule change.





The aftermath of the coaching rule change is often overlooked almost two years after its stunning addition. Although it is impossible to know how much the change actually altered the competitive landscape, it’s quite clear it had a substantial effect.





Oleksandr "s1mple" Kostyliev joined Natus Vincere just two weeks before the rule change, replacing veteran in-game leader Danylo "Zeus" Teslenko. Coach Sergey "starix" Ischuk had intended to act as the in-game leader with the new roster and help the team position its play around s1mple. Instead, starix was essentially nullified and Denis "seized" Kostin had to lead the team. Seized’s play started sagging almost immediately, and he has still yet to recover from it. His change in role ultimately contributed to his departure last year. Had Na’Vi known of the impending rule change, it is plausible that they would have cut a different player in order to sign s1mple.

Two Valve decisions will greatly impact Na Vi's result at the next major:



1) coaching rule change

2) re-introducing inferno



Feeling lucky? — lurppis (@tomi) November 18, 2016

At the start of 2016, Ninjas in Pyjamas added Counter-Strike 1.6 veteran Björn "THREAT" Pers to help shape up the roster and in-game lead with a disciplined and tactical style. In the first half of 2016, NiP had already won an event and finished second in another. Even directly after the rule change, NiP seemed largely unharmed with wins at StarSeries Season 2 and IEM Oakland. By early last year, though, the magic wore off as NiP failed to qualify for either Major in two tremendous upsets. Many analysts and even some of their opponents attributed their poor form to lack of ingenuity in the server, rather than the rule change. Still, it feels fair to wonder if NiP’s 2017 campaign would have been much different with Threat leading.





Team Liquid became the first North American team in CS:GO history to compete in a Major final at ESL One Cologne 2016. S1mple standing in for the team was a large reason for its run, especially against Fnatic in the semifinals. Additionally, coach Luis “peacemaker” Tadeu leading the squad allowed the young group of fraggers to overpower their opponents. Once the rule change took effect, peacemaker left the team after two events. The in-game leading role was then passed around like a hot potato until Peter “stanislaw” Jarguz joined in early 2017. While replacing s1mple’s firepower was always going to be impossible, playing without an in-game leader was a tremendous setback.





Meanwhile, the coaching rule would place an emphasis on strong in-game leaders. Teams such as SK Gaming with Gabriel “FalleN” Toledo, then-Dignitas with Mathias “MSL” Lauridsen and eventually Astralis with the signing of Lukas “Gla1ve” Rossander enjoyed success after the rule change. The increased importance on in-game leaders also temporarily exposed the problem with North American teams not having one until Peter “stanislaw” Jarguz emerged with OpTic Gaming, leading the team to a win at ELEAGUE Season 2 over Gla1ve and Astralis in the final. Having a good in-game leader has perhaps never been more important.





Players and analysts argued in disfavor of the rule change on all ends of the competitive landscape. Many argued for the rule to be reverted back to its original status while others proposed that coaches should be allowed to talk during freeze time in between rounds in addition to timeouts. With the emergence of multi-national super teams stacked with godlike firepower, it is almost a certainty that most professional teams would still prefer the old ruling.





Photo courtesy of Turner Sports/ELEAGUE