CS:GO fan pulls ultimate troll during BLAST Paris Major grand final

Opening cases in CS:GO can be an exhilarating endeavor on its own, but one fan took it to the next level on May 21 during the BLAST Paris Major grand final, landing the one-in-400 knife in front of thousands of fans—or so he’d have you think.

To pass the time during the live Counter-Strike, some fans in the arena have turned to opening cases on their laptop or Steam Deck, with production capturing the action for all to see. As expected, the majority of these case openings end with the same result: a blue or purple skin worth much less than the key used to open the case.

But during the first map of the grand final between GamerLegion and Vitality, one mischievous spectator hopped in front of the camera, opened his laptop, and simply opened a knife.

With almost 20,000 live viewers and another million watching from home, all paid witness to the glory of one of the greatest moments in a Counter-Strike player’s career. In defense of the trickster, he sold it with his performance, victoriously slamming his laptop shut and jumping onto the table, hands in the air.

But almost as soon as the clip began making the rounds on social media, many came to the realization that what they had just seen might have, in fact, been fake. Proof came just minutes later, with one observant Twitter user pointing out an obvious missing detail from the fraudster’s video.

In an August 2022 change, Valve added an “Inspect Items” option, which lets the user view and inspect each skin inside a case to get a better feel for just what can be opened. In the clip from the Major final, however? That specific detail was missing, all but ruling out the validity of the act.

Related: BLAST Paris CS:GO Major playoffs: Scores, standings, and results

As for the culprit responsible for this heinous act, Major organizer BLAST initially wanted to find the fan to congratulate them and find out just which knife was unboxed. Unfortunately, they disappeared into the audience just as fast as they appeared.

The BLAST Paris Major—the final CS:GO Major—wraps up on May 21.