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On 10th June 2015, Valve brought CS: GO's overwatch feature out of beta, which hit the ground limping. Overwatch was proposed as a community-driven drive to clean up the CS: GO community of cheaters and toxic griefers.
The concept saw highly-reported players' in-game demos recorded and anonymously sent to multiple members of the CS: GO community, and for an XP bonus, these members would review the demos. After numerous rounds, they would acquit or convict the player for either cheating or griefing.
While Valve has done an excellent job at negating false convictions, the system is ultimately human, and false bans do occur. Even CS: GO pros aren't above the system.
Five CS: GO pros to receive overwatch bans
1. XANTARES
Ismailcan "XANTARES" Dortkardes, the Turkish terminator, saw himself facing an overwatch ban in 2015 where he posted an update saying:
"fake nick ile csgo match making'e girdim overwatch ban yemişim :D:D kendi account ile."
This roughly translates to:
"I played mm with fake name in my real account and got overwatch banned."
This shows how much higher a professional players skill level is versus the average matchmaking player.
2. Pimp
25-year-old Danish ex-professional Jacob "Pimp" Winneche found himself on the receiving end of a 35-day overwatch ban on 7th May 2020. The former Team Liquid player took to Twitter to share his thoughts on the incident.
3. ScreaM
Before switching to Valorant, former CS: GO aim star Adil "ScreaM" Benrlitom faced an overwatch ban on his second account barely a month after its launch.
He took to Twitter with the following statement to express his stance on the system:
4. xms
French rifler Alexandre "xms" Forte, known for his entry skills with former team EnVyUs, received an overwatch ban in March 2018. While the other players had a context to their bans, xms was utterly perplexed when he got suspended, even reaching out to the CS: GO community on Twitter to find out who he could contact on Valve's side to resolve the issue.
5. fl0m
The bearded beast himself, Erik "fl0m" Flom, is another casualty on Valve's hitlist. He got handed an overwatch ban in March 2020, presumably for griefing. Users can witness the game that led to his ban and the actual moment on stream in the video below.
They can skip to the 11:30 mark to see the exact comical moment he got banned while playing with fellow streamers Jericho and Polen.
Also read: CS: GO professionals talk about Valorant taking over the North American scene
