Cheating and match-fixing have always been serious problems in Counter-Strike. These actions, ranging from secret hacks to Valve’s anti-cheat (VAC) bans, have had significant consequences. Many players lost their careers, their teams, and the trust of the entire community because of these choices
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10 Biggest Cheaters in Counter-Strike History
- iBUYPOWER (DaZeD, swag, steel, AZK): Collective ban for losing a professional game on purpose to get valuable skins.
- forsaken (Nikhil Kumawat): Caught cheating on the main stage (LAN) with his hack hidden in a file named “word.exe”.
- KQLY (Hovik Tovmassian): Famous French player who got kicked out in the huge game-police (VAC) wave of 2014.
- emilio (Joel Mako): The infamous player who got kicked out live during an official match that was being broadcast.
- The Coach Bug Scandal: Many coaches used a trick (a spectator bug) to unfairly see where all the players were on the map.
- Sf (Gordon Giry): Got kicked out (VAC ban) on the same day as KQLY, which made his whole team get kicked out of a tournament.
- smn (Simon Beck): His initial ban for using a secret hack was the main reason Valve started the massive round of police checks in 2014.
- fxy0 (Joey Schlosser): Permanently banned for being involved in another group that lost games on purpose in 2015.
- dalito (Daniel Antonio Morales): One of the very first pro players to get a big VAC ban in the early days of CS:GO.
- cLy (Anil Gulec): A notable player who was part of the first big wave of cheaters caught by the game’s police system in 2014.
1. iBUYPOWER (DaZeD, swag, steel, AZK)
This is the most famous cheating and match-fixing scandal in CS:GO history. In 2014, several iBUYPOWER players purposely lost a match so that they and their partners could win valuable skins. When Valve discovered the plan, all involved players were permanently banned from Valve-sponsored events. This event changed CS forever and made match-fixing punishments much stricter.
2. forsaken (Nikhil Kumawat)
In 2018, forsaken was caught cheating during the eXTREMESLAND Asia Finals, on LAN. This was extremely shocking because LAN events have tight security. His cheat was hidden inside a file called “word.exe,” and he tried to delete it when the admins approached his PC. The incident destroyed his team (OpTic India) and quickly became one of the biggest cheating stories in CS history.
3. KQLY (Hovik Tovmassian)
KQLY, a popular French player from Titan, was banned in November 2014 during one of the largest VAC waves ever. His ban happened just days before DreamHack Winter, forcing his team to withdraw from the tournament. His case showed how many pros had been secretly cheating before Valve updated its detection systems.
4. emilio (Joel Mako)
emilio’s VAC ban was one of the most dramatic moments ever seen in CS:GO. He was banned during a live official match, and the “VAC banned” message appeared on the stream for everyone to see. This proved instantly that he had been cheating and became a historic moment in the esports world.
5. The Coach Bug Scandal
Between 2016 and 2020, more than 35 CS:GO coaches misused a spectator bug that let them see parts of the map they were never supposed to. Some could watch key areas, while others could follow players without being noticed. After a long investigation in 2020–2022, several coaches received bans ranging from months to a lifetime. Well-known coaches like HUNDEN, starix, and RobbaN were part of the scandal. This became one of the biggest cheating cases ever because it affected many top-tier teams.
6. Sf (Gordon Giry)
Sf, who played for Epsilon eSports, was banned on the exact same day as KQLY in November 2014. Because of his VAC ban, the entire Epsilon roster was removed from DreamHack Winter 2014. His case showed how a single player’s cheating could ruin the chances of an entire team.
7.smn (Simon Beck)
smn used a private cheat that eventually led to a VAC ban. His ban was extremely important because it helped lead to Valve updating VAC in late 2014. Once the update went live, more cheaters, including KQLY and Sf, were also caught. In a way, smn’s cheating exposed a much bigger problem across the pro scene.
8. fxy0 (Joey Schlosser)
fxy0 was a strong French AWPer, but his career ended when he was banned permanently for match-fixing in 2015. He and several others purposely lost a match for rewards. His case proved that match-fixing was not limited to one region or one team; it was a wider issue that needed stricter rules.
9. dalito (Daniel Antonio Morales)
dalito was one of the earliest recognizable players to receive a VAC ban in CS:GO’s earlier years, around 2013–2014. His case showed that even players at higher levels were using cheats before stronger anti-cheat updates arrived.
10. cLy (Anil Gulec)
cLy was also banned in the 2014 VAC wave, which revealed that multiple competitive players had been hiding cheats. His case caused many people to question how many matches from earlier years were actually clean.
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Expert Take
“You can drop knives in a private match, sure- but don’t get too caught up flexing skins. In real games, you can’t do that anyway, so focus on crosshair placement, not cosmetics.” – Pawel ‘Biegan’ Bieganowski
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Conclusion
The history of cheating in Counter-Strike is a strong reminder that trying to get an unfair advantage can destroy a career overnight. These cases pushed Valve to create better anti-cheat updates and stricter rules. Because of these actions, today’s competitive matches, both in CS:GO and CS2, are much safer and fairer for all players.
