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Esports fights cheating bugs, bots and hacks

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Diane Falconer, Agence France-Presse

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2019/sports/08/07/20171007-dota-new-blood-md-4.jpg"/><figcaption>Esports were played in the 2019 Southeast Asian Games in the Philippines. <em>File photo. Mark Demayo, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>PARIS, France -- The rapid growth of eSports has increased the financial gains at stake and created a pressing need to fight the cheats and maintain the booming sector&#x27;s integrity.</p><p>In September a scandal broke out over a tournament for Counter Strike, the highly popular 20-year-old game in which teams role-play a group of terrorists or counter-terrorists in hostage-taking or bombing missions.</p><p>In a game of strategy, speed and 3D immersion, teamwork is essential as contestants engage in breathtaking two-minute missions.</p><p>After the scandal emerged, 37 team coaches were sanctioned by the ESports Integrity Commission (ESIC) after being found to have exploited a bug in the game to spy on rival teams&#x27; strategy.</p><p>The professional, semi-professional and amateur coaches were barred for periods ranging from a few months to several years.</p><p>The suspensions sent a shockwave through the gaming community and a number of teams including German outfit Mousesports, who parted company with coach Allan “Rejin” Petersen over the cheating. He has been banned for 20 months.</p><p>&quot;My deepest apologies go to the opponent affected by my mistake. My weak decision may have altered your career, and it is something I can never take back, and I regret the utmost,&quot; a contrite Petersen tweeted.</p><div><strong>- High stakes -</strong></div><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/ancx/drive/2019/13/banneresports.jpg"/></figure></div><p>This case, which concerns competitions dating back to 2016, is neither the first nor the last to rock eSports, a sector that has been transformed in the space of a few years from a niche hobby to a major industry. </p><p>Players are increasingly excluded from competitions, suspended, or even banned for life, for having given in to the temptation of an easy victory.</p><p>&quot;The reason why there is cheating in eSports is because there are high stakes,&quot; Desire Koussawo, the director of the French arm of ESL, one of the world&#x27;s biggest eSports event organizers, told AFP.</p><p>&quot;When you realize that today you can earn millions of dollars by winning a competition, the teams and the players may be more tempted to use roundabout ways of winning.&quot;</p><p>Before last year&#x27;s World Cup for Fortnite, 1,200 players had their accounts suspended for cheating.</p><p>&quot;There is little empirical data or statistics regarding cheating. However, for a number of years there have been accounts from players complaining about it,&quot; eSports sociologist Nicolas Besombes said.</p><div><strong>- &#x27;Aimbots&#x27; and &#x27;wallhacks&#x27; -</strong></div><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img src="https://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2020/life/07/03/20200703-esports.jpg"/><figcaption>The Philippines esports team competing at the Southeast Asian Games Dota 2 tournament in December 2019. <em>File photo. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>Cheating is nothing new, not even in the brave new world of gaming.</p><p>For example, players can buy an &quot;aimbot&quot; online which improves targeting in shooting games. And with a &quot;wallhack&quot; players can either see through walls, walk through them, or shoot through them.</p><p>&quot;Over the years we have adapted and raised the level of security of our PCs and our configurations to avoid this kind of thing,&quot; said Koussawo. &quot;But people are very inventive.&quot;</p><p>An example of some gamers&#x27; willingness to cheat came in 2018 when the Peruvian team Thunder Predator was ejected from the qualifying stages of &quot;The International&quot;, a prestigious tournament of the multi-player Dota 2 game, because one of its members used a programmable mouse which gave it an unfair advantage.</p><p>Tracking cheats has become a time-consuming and necessary side to eSports development -- and ESIC is trying to fill that role.</p><p>&quot;We believe it is in the long-term best interests of the game and all of eSports for integrity breaches to be dealt with head on,&quot; ESIC said.</p><p>&quot;We know that most coaches, players, tournament organizers, publishers and developers, fans, sponsors and broadcasters want CS:GO (Counter Strike: Global Offensive) and eSports to be clean and a fair competition.&quot;</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div>

<p>The rapid growth of eSports has increased the financial gains at stake and created a pressing need to fight the cheats and maintain the booming sector's integrity.<br /> </p>

The rapid growth of eSports has increased the financial gains at stake and created a pressing need to fight the cheats and maintain the booming sector's integrity.

Esports fights cheating bugs, bots and hacks

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Esports fights cheating bugs, bots and hacks

Diane Falconer,

Agence France-Presse

Published October 14, 2020 04:36 PM PHT

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Counter Strike

ESports Integrity Commission

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