Valve Bans ‘CS: GO’ Coaches From Participating In Matches

The scandals involving “Counter-Strike: Global Offensive” gambling sites are not even cold yet, but another development has occurred, this time involving coaches of professional e-sport athletes. Valve is banning coaches of “CS: GO” teams from participating in official matches, where they would provide instructions to their players in the past while combat was taking place.

The decision to remove coaches from the equation while matches between teams were taking place was due to the perceived imbalances that it would create during events, PC Gamer reports. Coaches are still allowed to talk to their teams before matches start, however, as well as during half-time.

The development was first caught by HTLV, thanks to an email that contained the signature of Ido Magal at Valve. In the email, Valve explains that having a coach in the ears of the players essentially make them sixth members.

“Activities such as keeping track of the economy, calling plays, and general situational awareness are important components of CS gameplay,” the email reads. “If a person is performing these actions, we consider them a player.”

With the implementation of the new rules, coaches of e-sport teams basically become like coaches of real-world teams, where the only communication they have with the players is when the match is not currently ongoing. Valve actually issued this protocol a long time ago, Kotaku reports, but players wanted more access to their coaches while the matches are going.

A coach claiming to represent top teams of “CS: GO” wrote to Valve on August 8th, saying that the athletes wanted to talk to their coaches during matches because they deemed the status quo unacceptable. Many in the professional league are also incensed with Valve’s decision due to their view that in-game coaching was part of the fun of playing and watching matches. Without it, the game supposedly becomes ordinary and boring.