Banned Game Moves That People Still Used In Tournaments
Let's face the cold, hard truth. Cheating in online multiplayer games isn't something unexpected anymore. Most people aren't surprised when someone they're playing against seems to have an advantage that isn't related to skill. Too many cheaters have ruined plenty of games in the past, including major titles like "Destiny 2" and "Grand Theft Auto Online."
It's not even just average players who take to cheating, either. Popular YouTube streamer Ludwig opened up about cheating for views, explaining that sometimes cheating just made for better content. While he was quick to point out that he never cheated in "Among Us" tournaments — despite his history with it on stream — not all pros can claim the same.
Many esports tournaments have concrete rules about what is and isn't allowed in competitive play, including banning some in-game moves that are either exploits or just unfair in some way, shape, or form. However, not all pros take these rules seriously, and there have been several tournaments where pros have pushed the boundaries to secure a win.
Overwatch
While people often think of cheating as third-party applications, cheating can sometimes look like exploiting prexisting glitches in maps. There have been plenty of players that have given in to the temptation to utilize an exploit, including "Overwatch" pro team Mayhem.
In May 2022, "Overwatch" pro team Mayhem used the abilities of Heroes Mei and Symmetra to get access to a part of the map that shouldn't be usable. With Mei's ice wall and Symmetra's teleport placed on top, the team was able to get access straight to the enemy's backline as YouTube user AxeSkull recorded.
The Head of the "Overwatch" League, Sean Miller, tweeted about the problem with the play, writing, "While we understand this was a fun play, the ruling here is that using a Mei wall to reach unusable locations with the Symmetra teleport is an exploit and has never been allowed." Miller also said that teams are made aware of the rule before matches.
Dot Esports reported that the match was paused following the attack and the round was replayed. Unfortunately for the opposing team, Paris Eternal, Mayhem still won the match without the exploit.
Valorant
"Valorant" has also had a multitude of issues with map exploits, particularly surrounding one agent's abilities: Jett. Jett's jumps and dashes make it easy to reach out of bounds areas of the map, and using the Agent in this way is considered an illegal exploit. Pro team G2 Esports violated this rule in March 2022, using Jett's abilities in a way that they weren't meant to be used.
The officials for the tournament, called VCT EMEA, explained on Twitter that G2 would lose a map ban on its upcoming match. This punishment was worse than normal over an exploit, which the tournament officials justified because G2 had already received one warning before using the exploit.
There were also official rules shared from the "Valorant" Global Competition Policy that explicitly stated that "Exploiting includes acts such as making use of any game function that ... is not functioning as intended and violated the design purpose of 'Valorant.'"
People were split on the call – on one hand, some fans felt like developers should spend time patching exploits out of the game instead of relying on players to not use them. Others felt like G2 deserved a harsher punishment, especially considering this was the second rule the team broke.
Super Smash Bros. Melee
It's not too often in the esports scene that different tournaments have different bans on game mechanics. In fact, most major esports have global rules that dictate what is and isn't allowed in any official tournament around the world. "Super Smash Bros. Melee" doesn't have an official rule-setting group like this, which has led to the infamous wobbling mechanic that some players use to rise to the top of brackets and other tournaments ban completely.
Wobbling is a move in "Melee" that can be used by Ice Climbers, and it's basically a combo that's unbreakable and can lead straight to a KO if the player knows how to perform it. It essentially locks opponents in a grapple that's impossible to escape from while Nana and Popo team up to attack. The move is controversial, and was banned in Tennessee tournaments after a player tweeted about the questionable move, according to Kotaku. The conversation sparked a series of bans in tournaments across the US. Still, many still use the Wobble technique to get the upper hand — even as recently as 2022, when Leffen used the technique in a new sort of way.
But why does the move have such a silly name? The technique was made popular in the United States by now-retired player Wobbles, who originated the move, and tournaments around the country have since created different rules about banning the infinite combo.
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive
Players aren't the only people who can cheat — coaches can, too. In 2020, 10 different professional "Counter-Strike: Global Offensive" coaches were investigated and found guilty of using an exploit to help their teams in official tournaments (via Win.gg).
The exploit allowed coaches to easily get a top-down view of the map, which let them know exactly where their opponents were. The glitch was eventually patched out of "Counter-Strike," but it had been used since 2015 by an alarming number of coaches. The punishments for each coach varied, with some being suspended from their team and others getting banned from professional play/coaching.
Fans were upset on every side of the case, with some calling out the game's developer, Valve, for letting such a massive bug stay in the game for years. Others were disappointed in the fact that so many coaches cheated and weren't respectful of the competitive atmosphere.