In thefight against cheating in online multiplayer games, permanent account bans are a powerful tool for maintaining a level playing field. However, the black and white nature of banning can create controversy, and even prompt legal action. As in the case of professional FinnishCounter Strike: Global Offensiveplayer Jamppi, who filed a lawsuit against Valve earlier this year after a previous account of his received a Valve Anti-Cheat (VAC) ban. Now both Valve and the District Court of Eastern Uusimaa have refused Jamppi’s request to have the ban temporarily removed while the case is being heard.
The latest report comes from Finnish website Ilta-Sanomat, who received Valve’s response on August 20. Nineteen year old Elias ‘Jamppi’ Olkkonen is claiming compensation of 268k Euros (approximately US$315k) for missedCounter Strikerelated earnings, as the VAC ban prevents him from competing in any Valve sanctioned events such as theCS:GOMajors. The esports player also claims the ban hindered him from signing with OG Esports’CS:GOteam.
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Valve’s response to the request claims that allowing Jamppi to have the ban removed temporarily would cause more damage to the company. “The applicant seeks to gain temporarily, by means of a precautionary measure, what he cannot achieve with the main case he has initiated,” stated a Valve representative. The company also made it clear that it believes any temporary reversal of the ban would send a signal to other players thatthey can cheat and carry on playing.
The decision not to restore the account means he will continue to miss most of the majorCS:GOevents, but Valve have stated it believes Jamppi has not been completely prevented from playingCS:GOprofessionally, as he signed a two-year contract with the ENCE team in April. If Jamppi does not appeal the verdict, the next stage of the lawsuit is for the District Court of Eastern Uusimaa to rule if it has the jurisdiction to take the case further, and no timetable has been given as to when a decision may be made. Jamppi is by no means the only professional esports player to face action for alleged cheating, withthe winners of a MayCS:GOtournament in Finland being stripped of their title for cheating. In 2019, more than a dozenPUBGprofessionals were caught cheating during global championship qualifiers.
Cheating in online multiplayer games is a huge problem, and given how it ruins the experiences of innocent gamers it’s likely that mostCS:GOplayers support Valve in trying to tackle the problem. The issue is even more serious when it comes toprofessional esports players cheating, when having an unfair advantage may be rewarded with prize money at someone else’s expense.
A case like Jamppi’s is farmore complex than most cheat related bans, and with the verdict for the case unlikely to come any time soon, it is both understandable that Jamppi would want a temporary lifting of the ban, and that Valve would see doing so as unacceptable encouragement for cheaters inCS:GOand other titles. The court decision settles the matter though, barring an appeal from Jamppi.
CS:GOis available on Linux, OS X, PC, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360.
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