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[CraigerGamer]

https://en.wesg.com/en/csgo/news/5022-venatores-disqualified-from-wesg

CS:GO Reddit saying the dude received a VAC 3 years ago at age 15 on a smurf account he created.

Evidently the investigation was kind of shady. nobody knows who provided the information or who actually did the research nor the game he was playing where the VAC was issued.

Patitek is a skilled CS:GO player and it kind of sucks that he is now banned (and his team is disqualified after beating one of the very best teams in the world) for a mistake made as a kid. I don't really know how competitive esports should handle these types of situations tbh. Many say that there should be no mercy if someone gets caught cheating, in any game, at any age, when it comes to elite competition. But I think the penalties should be a bit more nuanced.

Just kind of sucks for this guy and his team. They are obviously extremely talented and Patitek's career may be over before it really even started.

VAC thread if old

 

[chronic_archaic]

Sounds about right, I don't cheat online and think it's ass however I'm not surprised in the slightest a 15 year old would make a smurf/mod. That shit was an epidemic when I played often 2 or 3 years ago.

Don't think it's ground for being banned as a professional, I'd argue so long as you don't cheat when you become a competitive player for money you shouldn't be disqualified. It's not like it's a reflection on how he plays now.

 

[Haines]

If you want to be a professional at anything ya better hope your past is clean

 

[psyfi]

This is shitty. Give the kid a break.

 

[NOLA_Gaffer]

There should be a zero tolerance policy for cheaters. This was the proper response.

 

[CookTrain]

There's so many competitive players who strive to be the best, by the book. Why give any second chances to cheaters? It's really not hard to not do.

Some may think it's harsh, but diddums. If you want to compete at that level, if you want to earn money doing it, I don't understand how second chances are justified when so many people don't get a first chance to compete.

 

[Neverfade]

Am I supposed to know what the fuck VAC means?

 

[smurfx]

If you want to be a professional at anything ya better hope your past is clean

lol except sports, politics and media.

 

[ScaryShark]

A lifetime ban seems overkill, especially when dealing with teenagers.

 

[Visualante2]

Meanwhile world class athletes get a slap on the wrist for actions taken as an adult.

 

[Welfare]

Don't cheat, simple as that.

Am I supposed to know what the fuck VAC means?

Valve Anti Cheat

 

[Maxinas]

Am I supposed to know what the fuck VAC means?

Valve Anti-Cheat.

 

[Syf]

Can't agree with a lifetime ban for something he did as a kid.

 

[CraigerGamer]

There's so many competitive players who strive to be the best, by the book. Why give any second chances to cheaters? It's really not hard to not do.

Some may think it's harsh, but diddums. If you want to compete at that level, if you want to earn money doing it, I don't understand how second chances are justified when so many people don't get a first chance to compete.

I don't think you can expect someone at the age of 15 to understand this at all.

 

[Budi]

I chuckled at "He did something stupid because he was a kid......3 years ago".
But yeah, if VAC bans are something that will prevent players from participating in the tournament, it doesn't make much difference if it was on smurf account or not.

Can't agree with a lifetime ban for something he did as a kid.

Sure but we could atleast wait for the time when he isn't a kid anymore before erasing the record.

 

[FX-GMC]

Am I supposed to know what the fuck VAC means?

Hard stuff for someone who knows how to use the internet.

 

[Alias50]

If you cheated during a previous tournament or other "official" ranking, then yes, this sort of thing is justified.

But if you got a VAC ban for screwing around during play with no stakes, especially if this was a while ago, then having something like this over your head is pretty cruel, especially if you're underage at the time. I mean, I know I'm stretching the analogy a little as the circumstances are different but there's a reason juvenile offenders have their criminal records sealed (In the U.S. and Canada that I know of, probably other countries too).

 

[Duffk1ng]

This is shitty. Give the kid a break.

Wouldn't need a break if he hadn't cheated.

To be fair though, you could maybe treat this a little different as he was 15 at the time and you treat crimes commited before adulthood differently too.

 

[L.O.R.D]

If you want to be a professional at anything ya better hope your past is clean

just like Donald J. Trump twitter account, oh wait.

 

[CookTrain]

I don't think you can expect someone at the age of 15 to understand this at all.

So what about the person just outside the top-X who played legit the whole time and is bumped out because cheaters get to persist? Hard cheese on the honest for the benefit of the frauds?

 

[atomic moth]

Hard stuff for someone who knows how to use the internet.

Hey since you’re on google can you look up what a smurf account is?

Thanks

 

[Leafhopper]

Am I supposed to know what the fuck VAC means?

Am I supposed to know what the fuck [X term for something I could easily google] means?

 

[CraigerGamer]

Meanwhile world class athletes get a slap on the wrist for actions taken as an adult.

Unless it's something really awful like getting caught gambling on your team. That's a lifetime ban. I think getting caught cheating at an esport is equal to betting on your sport. But the dude wasn't a professional at the time and it may not even been in the game he was competing in. Again, nuance in these types of decisions are important.

 

[Saganator]

I played competitively in the early days of esport, not on the professional level like this kid, but even back then, at age 15 or lower, we knew cheating of any kind, for fun or not, would get your ass banned with quickness. Even if you were caught in a different game than the one you play competitively, you're gone.

 

[bobawesome]

Sucks to be a cheater, then.

 

[Phrozenflame500]

This is pretty interesting since the comparison to real professional sports could go either way here. Getting publicly caught cheating once is basically a death sentence in most "real" athletic competition. But on the other-hand considering this VAC ban was pre-pro it's questionable whether it should matter.

EDIT: Ok maybe the comparison to real sports leans a bit more towards one direction then the other.

 

[Neverfade]

Don't cheat, simple as that.



Valve Anti Cheat

Valve Anti-Cheat.

Thanks guys.

Hard stuff for someone who knows how to use the internet.

Shove the fuck off.

 

[Duffk1ng]

This is pretty interesting since the comparison to real professional sports could go either way here. Getting publicly caught cheating once is basically a death sentence in most "real" athletic competition. But on the other-hand considering this VAC ban was pre-pro it's questionable whether it should matter.

Justin Gatlin says hi

 

[Älg]

What exactly was he banned for? Surely it's not VAC bannable to have a smurf account?

 

[Pai Pai Master]

Am I supposed to know what the fuck VAC means?

I mean it would have taken less time to Google and learn than it would have to open the thread and make your post.

 

[icecold1983]

did he just use a second account to smurf or did he actually cheat? If the latter than i support the lifetime ban. Dont give me that "he was only 15 nonsense." When i was 15 i was well aware of cheating and all its implications

 

[mrlion]

Remember kids, just because you make a smurf account doesn't mean you have to act like a dick!

The more you know.

 

[vgamer1]

Thanks guys.



Shove the fuck off.

Nah. Would have been quicker for you to type 3 letters into a search bar than ask in a forum thread.

 

[ScaryShark]

I played competitively in the early days of esport, not on the professional level like this kid, but even back then, at age 15 or lower, we knew cheating of any kind, for fun or not, would get your ass banned with quickness. Even if you were caught in a different game than the one you play competitively, you're gone.

Sure, and he was punished at that time for that infraction. A retroactive ban for something that is irrelevant to the current competition he was removed from doesn't really make sense to me.

This is pretty interesting since the comparison to real professional sports could go either way here. Getting publicly caught cheating once is basically a death sentence in most "real" athletic competition. But on the other-hand considering this VAC ban was pre-pro it's questionable whether it should matter.

It's 100% not though. It's almost always time based and it takes multiple infractions for a lifetime ban. You usually keep your salary too.

 

[Avallon]

I don't think you can expect someone at the age of 15 to understand this at all.

I think just about every 15-year old is competent enough to understand that. Maybe they don't respect the gravity of it, but they certainly understand it.

 

[Tertullian]

This is perfect. Fuck cheaters. Cheaters are garbage. Crush their spirits. Wait until they've fought hard to become the best, put their heart and soul into a game, spent thousands of hours pursuing their dream, then take it all away from them at the last possible moment. Then publicize their ban as far and wide as possible. Say "this is how we deal with cheaters."

 

[Budi]

What exactly was he banned for? Surely it's not VAC bannable to have a smurf account?

He was banned for cheating, that's what VAC does. He wasn't kicked out of the tournament just because he had an alt account. But because he used that account to cheat and it got detected by VAC.

 

[Unicorn]

This is dumb. Did he cheat in a competition? No, then fuck off.

This ain't anywhere close to, say, using stimulants in other sports during training to get an edge in a competition. Anything cheating related that is separated from the tournament or competition "canon" should not matter.

Ban me from pro fighting game tournaments for using cheat codes in MK on Genesis if old.

 

[Imbarkus]

My son earned me a VAC ban when he was about 12 years old, borrowing my account and being a dumb kid. Yes, my fault for letting him use the account, he has his own now, spotless clean.



It's been eight years, Valve. People get out of jail for violent felonies faster than this. Is there never going to be an amnesty or relief for single-instance accounts in good standing for decades afterwards?

Goes without saying I feel real bad for the kid listed in the OP.

 

[tesqui]

I had a short period where I used to mess around with aimbots and wallhacks when I was like 13 in CSS. I never did it in a match or anything, just messed around in public servers. I don't know about everyone, but at that age I was curious about that stuff. I would never do it now, but I'm just saying as a kid you think it's pretty awesome.

I personally think this is a bit harsh.

 

[FX-GMC]

Shove the fuck off.

Sorry. I didn't know you were so fragile.

 

[LordKasual]

If you want to be a professional at anything ya better hope your past is clean

im fucked

 

[Leafhopper]

Shove the fuck off.

Lmao.

 

[stan423321]

If you want to be a professional at anything ya better hope your past is clean

The thing is, with digital records this is getting pretty much impossible. Even if you magically had ability to only do "clean" stuff at the age of 5 or so - good luck with that - people may change definition of clean. Actually I am completely confused over the fact Valve even penalizes smurfing instead of making the matchmaking handle ability changes faster.

 

[Bamboo]

Hey since you're on google can you look up what a smurf account is?

Thanks

I got you. (didn't know myself)

I don't know what ELO is, but I don't care enough to google that, too.

 

[prag16]

Already lots of people riding into the topic on their high horses.

This punishment is bullshit. It would be like some football player pissing hot his sophomore year of college, and consequently being banned for life from the NFL as a result.

 

[Transistor]

He was banned for cheating, that's what VAC does. He wasn't kicked out of the tournament just because he had an alt account. But because he used that account to cheat and it got detected by VAC.

Then he is rightfully banned

 

[Baraka Obama]

Am I supposed to know what the fuck VAC means?

google and settle down

 

[CookTrain]

I don't know what ELO is, but I don't care enough to google that, too.

Electric Light Orchestra. Top band!

Ahem.

Already lots of people riding into the topic on their high horses.

This punishment is bullshit. It would be like some football player pissing hot his sophomore year of college, and consequently being banned for life from the NFL as a result.

This is also a fine punishment to my mind. I don't consider it a moral high horse to think non-cheaters should skip ahead of the queue of cheaters.

 

[autoduelist]

I think just about every 15-year old is competent enough to understand that. Maybe they don't respect the gravity of it, but they certainly understand it.

15 year olds understand that cheating is bad.
They most definitely do not understand life long repercussions.

I mean, a 15 year old that cheats on a test shouldn't be banned from going to University.