ESEA has banned German Counter-Strike player Simon “smn” Beck for cheating.
Beck had been playing for German team Alternate, one of the country’s top Counter-Strike: Global Offensive squads. Alternate participated in the European ESEA Main division this past season, placing fourth.
All competitors in ESEA leagues are required to run anti-cheat software on their computers, and this software caught Beck while he was playing an ESEA game.
Alternate was quick to act in responding to Beck’s banning. The team released a statement on their official website explaining its decision.
The team had planned to wait for the results of Beck’s appeal process, but when the appeal was immediately denied by ESEA, Alternate decided to release Beck from the team.
Team manager Jorg Jakob expressed surprise at the news and was apologetic in his response.
“For me and for the other players this development is very surprising and I can assure you that none of the other players had knowledge of the cheats Beck used,” Jakob said.
The timing of the ban is unfortunate for Alternate. The team, headlined by Turkish player Fatih “gob b” Dayik, is set to participate in the ESL Pro Series final next month. Now it may be left scrambling to find an appropriate replacement for Beck.
Alternate’s participation in the event is unlikely to be at risk given how swiftly Beck was removed from the team, though neither ESL nor ESEA has yet offered comment on the ban.
Image via Team Alternate/Facebook
