The spectator bug in the CS:GO client that resulted in a wave of coaches using the bug to cheat is still in the game. Sergey “lmbt” Bezhanov—a coach who was banned for allegedly using the bug before he and forZe made an appeal that resulted in him being cleared—posted today a clip of the bug still active while waiting for a match to start.
The bug allows coaches or anyone observing the match to take over a free camera and move anywhere around the map. Numerous coaches used the bug over the years to feed their players information on where the opposing team was going to push or stack bombsites. In the clip, Imbt directly addressed both Valve and the Esports Integrity Commission about this issue.
ESIC led the charge on the investigation into the use of this bug in September 2020. A total of 37 coaches were suspended from competing at any ESIC-sanctioned event for varying lengths of time, with bans ranging from just a few months up to three years. Other coaches like lmbt have appealed the bans, while other received reduced bans for helping the investigation. This past January, Valve issued out major bans to several of the already suspended coaches, with some receiving bans for just one or two majors, while others received bans of five majors or completely permanent bans.
The results of this investigation led to a controversial decision from Valve not to allow coaches to talk to their players at all during online matches, which was met an overall negative response from people in the pro community. Despite the punishments handed out to both guilty and innocent coaches, Valve has evidently not fixed the prominent issue in the game itself.
