Valve will not allow staff to help teams or communicate with the players as part of a significant change to its competitive rules for pro teams.

The move comes after the investigation by the ESIC (Esports Integrity Commission) in Sept. 2020. Finally laying down the law, Valve will be prohibiting CS:GO staff including coaches from online matches.

ESIC banned 37 coaches back in Sept. last year for taking advantage of the spectator bug. Aside from that, several stream-sniping accusations also surfaced.

CS:GO coaches prohibited from online matches

In CS:GO, coaches are important members of the team since they provide tactics and support the in-game leader of the team. CS:GO tournaments are currently being played online only due to the still-raging coronavirus pandemic and as a result, there has been a surge in reports of stream-sniping.

Much to the chagrin of the CS:GO community, several coaches were accused of using spectator bug. As part of its response to the ESIC investigation, Valve has now restricted CS:GO support staff, as well as coaches from online matches.

Explaining the move in a new blog post, Valve noted that it is common for coaches to exploit the bug, adding that it was unreported for a long time. Moreover, it said stream-sniping accusations have also increased.

In a bid to make sure that the declining integrity of coaching does not end up casting a shadow on the integrity of events sponsored by Valve, they have decided to change the restriction on support staff.

The restrictions

• During online matches, only players will be allowed in the room and on the server.
• Coaches and any other support staff will neither be allowed in the room or on the server.
• CS:GO coaches or any staff member will not be allowed to interact with the players.

Furthermore, coaches who ESIC found were exploiting the spectator bug were disqualified from participating in a myriad of upcoming Valve-sponsored events. The number of events they were banned from was based on the extent of the abuse. You can check out the table below for details.

Some coaches will miss the PGL Stockholm Major, while others have been banned permanently from participating in Valve-sponsored events.

CS:GO RMR update for 2021

Valve recently announced the PGL Stockholm Major as the first Major of 2021. Teams go toe-to-toe in RMR events to gain points throughout the year to get to a Major. Aside from sharing some details on the CS:GO RMR event system for 2021, Valve echoed its decision to prohibit coaches in online matches.

It is good to see Valve finally making a decision about CS:GO coaches, after ESIC found them guilty of using the spectator bug back in Sept. last year. However, several teams will be disappointed with coaches or support staff being banned from online events, considering that they play a vital role for their players.