What Esports Can Learn From The Forsaken CS:GO Cheating Scandal

Jason Fanelli,

November 5, 2018 5:00 PM

News of a CS:GO player cheating during premier events is troubling for many reasons, but if more players were to be caught esports could be headed down a long and tumultuous path. Pro wrestling may be the best example to help learn from history.

The news of OpTic India’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) player Nikhil “Forsaken” Kumawat using a cheating program during official events left an indelible mark on the esports scene. Any time an athlete is caught cheating reactions (and punishments) are usually swift, and before long forsaken was dismissed from OpTic India and left the competitive scene altogether. It’s safe to say that Forsaken will not be competing any time soon, as trust in him no longer exists.

Of course, him being able to use an auto-aiming program to begin with should raise a lot of questions. How was this able to get through the event’s anti-cheating measures before being picked up? How many other events were impacted by his use of this program? Was OpTic India made aware of it previously? There’s a lot to consider, and due diligence will be needed to ensure this doesn’t happen again.

Dodging a bullet

Fortunately for esports, this situation took place at a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive event, which -- and I mean no offense to the game, its players, or development team -- is not quite a household name. There’s a strong following, sure, but if this were, let's say, Ninja cheating in Fortnite the blowback would be far more severe, publicly and otherwise...which begs the question: what would happen if a major competitive gamer was caught cheating?

Most would say they don’t know, as there’s no real comparison to make between the esports world and other sports leagues. There have been cheating scandals across all major sports at one point or another, from Major League Baseball’s steroid problem to doping in the Olympics. Those institutions have survived the scandals, why wouldn’t esports?

That answer is simple: esports may be gaining mainstream appeal, but it’s not at the top of the mountain yet. One simple scandal like this could be all it takes to reset the entirety of competitive gaming to square one. In fact, there is absolutely a real-world example of what might happen if someone huge is caught cheating, and it’s not hard to see the potential parallels.

Let’s go back in time, 24 years back to be exact, to the year 1994. It’s time to talk about steroids in professional wrestling.

WWE's Vince McMahon after being cleared of all charges.

Pro Wrestling's Greatest Trial

See, in 1994 Vince McMahon, the head of the World Wrestling Federation (now World Wrestling Entertainment) was indicted and charged with providing anabolic steroids to his wrestlers. Specifically, the indictment accused McMahon of using the banned substances as a spark for the industry’s enhanced growth (no pun intended) in the 1980s. Many of Vince’s wrestlers past and present testified for and against him, including perhaps the biggest star at the time Hulk Hogan.

After a two week trial and two days of jury deliberation McMahon was cleared of all charges, but to this day the negative connotation of the trial lingers on. Wrestlers are still thought to be on some sort of performance enhancer by some non-wrestling fans, even though WWE has implemented a strict Wellness Policy with sizable suspensions for violators. The stigma of the “juiced up pro wrestler” never really went away, and there’s no timetable on when that could happen.

The Esports Connection

So what does this have to do with Forsaken, OpTic India, and esports in general? Well think about it: if enough prominent e-athletes were to be found using some sort of cheating devices or programs while competing in official events, the opinion of those not familiar with the esports scene may dismiss it citing those cheaters. I can already hear detractors saying things like “they probably all use hacks like that, these guys just got caught” or “of course she’s hacking, there’s no way she could play like that.” Once the well is tainted, or “modded” as it were, it’s a long road back to gaining the public trust.

Forsaken’s situation has been dealt with by all sides, and his tenure in the CS:GO scene is likely over for good. This experience should be a lesson to all e-athletes, however, that should they decide to look for outside help they could be the ones to taint the entire esports landscape. No one wants to be the one to spoil a good thing for the rest of the class, so I can only hope the lessons that can be learned from Forsaken sink in. Otherwise instead of rivaling the National Football League, esports will barely hold its own in the public eye and an industry will be stalled for good.

For more on the entire esports landscape, check out our interview with Hearthstone pro Stafford McIntyre, as well as the reveal of the Overwatch League’s newest team.



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