Coaches have the ability to free-roam in online Counter-Strike 2 tournaments, according to veteran rifler Olofmeister, which has left many fans fearing a repeat of the infamous coach suspensions from Global Offensive if left unchecked.
Olofmeister revealed this trick—which boils down to the way the observer profile is coded at the moment—could easily be used to cheat as a coach. Right now, there’s no real way to avoid it either; tournament organizers have to “trust they [the coaches] don’t look at the other team,” according to Olofmeister on Nov. 5.
With free-roam enabled, CS2 coaches would be able to see every position. This would give the ability to spot opponents’ habits easily, giving teams an unbeatable advantage.
Currently, coaches are only allowed to spectate during practice in most CS2 tournaments, according to Olofmeister, but that has done little to mitigate early concerns.
Previously, the CS:GO scene was rocked by a bug allowing coaches to free-roam around the whole map. The following investigation by ESIC spanned years and nearly 100 coaches were eventually sanctioned by the integrity commission.
The severity of the punishments varied depending on how the bug was used. Several big-name coaches like Nicolai “HUNDEN” Petersen and current Astralis coach Peter “casle” Ardenskjold were among the sanctioned selections. These bans lasted anywhere from one month to years. Dozens of coaches were caught, though some bans were later rescinded.
CS:GO had a long and arduous journey with issues like match-fixing and cheating in the past. While CS2 is still in its early days, allowing coaches to free-roam would start the game off nearly entirely where Global Offensive ended.
Right now, online tournament organizers are going to have to be vigilant about how coaches use this feature, with players already worried one wayward wrongdoer may be enough to spark another dramatic suspension spree.
Dot Esports has reached out to Valve for further comments.
