Russian CS:GO team ForZe is under fire yet again after MAD Lions head coach Luis “peacemaker” Tadeu caught the team using recording software during scrims without the permission of their opponents.
ForZe was already facing backlash after it hired former Hard Legion coach Aleksandr ‘zoneR’ Bogatiryev, who received a 36-month ban from ESL in September for exploiting a coaching bug.
ZoneR joined in October as the lead for its academy team, with ForZe explaining, “his coaching experience and understanding of the game will help to educate new guys who are “on fire” with CS: GO.”
But they still faced negative feedback from the community, with former FaZe Clan coach Janko ‘YNk’ Paunovic worried the influence of a convicted cheater was not an appropriate example for young players.
This has to be a joke, right?
The most blatant cheater in coaching is supposed to set an example for young players? My mind is blown, absolutely disgraceful from forZe. https://t.co/rNUuwnGVQR
— Janko Paunovic (@YNk) October 24, 2020
The latest controversy facing ForZe
MAD Lions head coach peacemaker tweeted a screenshot showing ForZe’s use of GOTV: a form of match recording software. He labeled the team’s use of the software ‘a problem’, and said, “it doesn’t feel right.”
And also, we play each other in @Flashpoint like.. Idk this just doesnt feel right at all.. pretty disappointing.
— Luis Peacemaker (@peacemaker) November 1, 2020
Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest updates on Esports, Gaming and more.
Recording scrims without the opponents’ permission is regarded as being an unspoken no-go in CSGO ethics, especially at high-level pro play. Recording such matches means teams can spectate strategies their opponents have been practicing, putting them at a severe disadvantage.
Peacemaker then condemned the shady practices of ForZe, showing his disbelief towards the organization “forgetting” to disable the software while they were scrimming.
However, ForZe coach Serbey LMBT Bezhanov admitted his team was “already working on banning [GOTV] from [the] server forever.”
Well Im not willing to fight with you at all obv. Thats why Im sorry for this incident and forgetting to kick GOTV. Already working on banning it from server forever. I dont have admin pannel there so manager is on it.
— Sergey LMBT Bezhanov (@LMBT_CSGO) November 1, 2020
But former FaZe coach YNk then claimed this was common practice from ForZe: “We’d have to ask them to kick the GOTV every single time we’d practice on their server.”
It’s an unwanted controversy for LMBT, who received a 7.5-month ban in September for exploiting a spectator bug while at Hellraisers and ForZe, but was later cleared after an appeal.
As always, we will keep updating this story as it continues to develop.
