It’s definitely been a while since our last State of the Community episode. Indeed, with so many scenes undergoing drastic changes of platform, it didn’t seem fair to offer a critical narrative in this regard. However, many months later we can now begin to observe which esports faired better. Unfortunately, it seems that online CS:GO struggling has some reasoning behind it – let’s dive in!
Possibly the Greatest Cheating Scandal in Esports History
I’m not sure if this is justified to say, but last year CS:GO suffered one of the greatest cheating scandals in esports history. As extensively covered by us, teams upon teams upon teams were exposd to have cheated through coaches manipulating exploits and not reporting them.
Accordingly, online CS:GO struggling was no surprise. Coach after coach either confessed or simply left the scene, while many achievements were simply questioned. Indeed, this scandal had serious repercussions on the fabric of the community, throwing the competitive scene into a whirlwind of accusations and speculation.
Yet, that’s in the past – what else could be contribute to online CS:GO struggling?
Stream Sniping at ESIC – Really?
Another scandal, though more present and less serious, was that of stream sniping at the ESIC event last year in December. Here’s a Tweet to dig in, where ESIC simply says ‘they’d had enough’:
Obviously, ESIC knew something was up and reported that certain teams were up to no good. Specifically, the community has pinpointed MIBR’s performance early in the tournament as replicative of this.
And all of this is taking place with a title like VALORANT quickly gaining support. With the title on the horizon, a few teams decided to build their reputation in an unethical way.
Online CS:GO Struggling – Match-Fixing Before the Swap
Another scandal? Yes, you guessed it. Online CS:GO Struggling’s final chapter comes in the form of match-fixing which was allegedly taking place in September. Accordingly, what was taking place was that a cohort of competitive CS:GO players decided to match-fix tournament outcomes. In doing so, they would appear as stronger competitors to assure themselves a spot on a VALORANT roster.
Once again, ESIC got it’s hands dirty with another investigation:
Although taking place in lower leagues, this is still a massive hit to the community once again. While investigations are still underway, it doesn’t look to bright.
Organizations Complaining About Viability
Bearing all this in mind, and the fact that online CS:GO is already in itself a difficult thing to host, there’s more to come. With the online switch, events were simply less competitively viable due to how badly internet could affect the fast-paced action.
With the main bulk of struggle in the North American region, organizations such as Team Envy have stepped away from the scene with the following inflammatory tweet:
Such strong words are worth considering. Esports organizations in NA are struggling to field a CS:GO roster in its current state – saying it’s not viable. However, not every owner is having this experience as countered by Triumph Gaming’s CEO:
Online CS:GO Struggling – Not the End
I’m aware that I’ve painted a pretty bleak picture but that’s not the end. Yes, the scene is having some trouble right now, but it’ll rebound.
In order to do this, Valve and event organizers have to work together to make the online platform more competitively viable and fair. At the same time, these little issues must be resolved before they get even more serious.
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