- ESIC reinforces zero tolerance policy against stream sniping in CS:GO.
- ESIC has taken a decision to forgive all past instances of stream sniping but will be taking strict action going forward.
- ESIC issues a set of guidelines to mitigate this ongoing threat to competitive integrity.
The Esports Integrity Commission has finally decided to take a zero-tolerance policy against stream sniping in competitive CS:GO while stating that they are aware of the situation and have received “compelling evidence depicting that this behavior has been taking place on an alarmingly regular basis, at all levels of competition” especially during this online era of Counter-Strike.
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ESIC Issues Strict Rules Against CS:GO Stream Sniping
ESIC had spoken about this a few months back and have finally taken a step forward to reinforce a strict zero-tolerance policy against the widespread activity of stream-sniping which has seen an alarming rise in recent times. They have clearly stated that stream sniping also referred to as ‘ghosting’ is a form of cheating that is prohibited by the rules of almost all the tournament organizers and is very much a breach of ESIC’s code of conduct.
While taking a zero-tolerance approach themselves from now on ESIC has communicated the same with all the non-member organizations as well. They have stated that all the past instances related to stream-sniping have been dismissed despite there being credible evidence against some of the cases and that starting from 2nd December “any violation of this rule will be prosecuted vigorously and the maximum available sanction sought if the player, coach, or team is found guilty.”
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Some additional measure that ESIC has requested be implemented urgently to mitigate the ongoing threat to competitive integrity are as follows,
- The delay between real-time match action and the streaming broadcast should be increased to 3 minutes.
- During a technical pause, all information related to the round should be hidden along with caster and analyst commentary.
- Tier-1 CS:GO TO’s should take every effort to include a live feed of the entire room from where the teams are competing.
- Official ‘data agreements’ should be made between TO’s and betting operators so as not to lead to direct broadcast exploitation.
Having given the new guidelines which ESIC expects all its partner organizations to follow while extending the same to other non-member organizations as well Ian Smith, ESIC Commissioner stated that “Whilst I am disappointed with the level of abuse of this facility and clear rule-breaking, it is my view that we have done what is best for the broader CS:GO community, which has already been rocked by serious scandals this year.”
