Former Velocity Gaming CS:GO Players Banned on FACEIT for Alleged Cheating

Four professional CS:GO players who previously were part of a local esports organization, Velocity Gaming, have faced bans on a third-party competitive platform, FACEIT.

They have been charged with counts of cheating, as per the public information available via their respective FACEIT accounts.

• Muhammad "Syahhftw" Bin Arif and Bodhisattwa "The_Guru" Pandey face an indefinite ban from FACEIT.

• Nairit "L0sttt_" Bannerjee and Tamojit "Logan" Ghosal face a two-year ban from FACEIT.

On social media, The_Guru has claimed that the bans against them are false. He reasons that they were playing from a cyber cafe where a lot of players use a system. A report about the same has been made to FACEIT and the issue is under investigation.

The player's former organization Velocity Gaming has released a statement clarifying that they had parted ways with the team on 18^th August before these bans.

Four Professional CS:GO Players Banned on FACEIT Following Charges of Cheating

Velocity Gaming had signed a CS:GO lineup on 4^th July ahead of the Skyesports Masters 2023. The team crashed out of the CS:GO tournament with a last-place finish after winning just one match out of the 14 that they played during the regular season.

Just a week after their elimination from this tournament, four out of the six players that were part of this team have been banned from FACEIT for alleged cheating.

1. Nairit "L0sttt_" Bannerjee | FACEIT Profile

   • Joining Date: 1^st April 2017

   • Account Status: Banned For Cheating

   • Ban Duration: Two Years | 25^th Aug 2023 to 25^th Aug 2025

2. Tamojit "Logan" Ghosal | FACEIT Profile

   • Joining Date: 29^th August 2017

   • Account Status: Banned For Cheating

   • Ban Duration: Two Years | 25^th Aug 2023 to 25^th Aug 2025

3. Muhammad "Syahhftw" Bin Arif | FACEIT Profile

   • Joining Date: 27^th June 2020

   • Account Status: Banned For Cheating

   • Ban Duration: Indefinite

4. Bodhisattwa "The_Guru" Pandey | FACEIT Profile

   • Joining Date: 25^th June 2015

   • Account Status: Banned For Cheating

   • Ban Duration: Indefinite

The two remaining players, Dipayan "MaChO" Das and Keven "KevinR" Ross Russel, were seemingly not involved in this incident which has sparked a heavy outrage across the regional CS:GO community.

However, The_Guru has claimed that the bans are false and the reason why they have been flagged for cheating is because they were playing from a gaming cafe where multiple players use a system. He further said that a report has been filed with FACEIT and the matter is currently under investigation.

In the aftermath of this incident, Velocity Gaming has come out with a statement to clarify that they had no affiliation with the players post 18^th August.

The organization provided affirmation from its end that all the players competed fairly during the Skyesports Masters 2023. The organization also admitted that it did not have enough time on its hands to conduct proper due diligence prior to the tournament, something it promises to be more careful about in the future.

At the time of writing this article, the FACEIT accounts of all the four players continue to remain banned on the platform with cheating being the highlighted reason for the punishment.