GamerLegion’s boost on Overpass was OP. What does the IEM Rio Major rulebook say?

GamerLegion showed off a rather unusual boost on Overpass’ Connector during their match against Cloud9 today in the IEM Rio CS:GO Major Challengers Stage’s 2-2 pool.

The European team boosted the Romanian rifler Ivan “iM” Mihai in the Connector Lamp on Overpass and caught C9’s player Timofey “interz” Yakushin totally off guard. He wasn’t expecting iM to be there and the Molotov he threw didn’t burn the GamerLegion rifler.

Alex “MACHINE” Richardson and Chad “SPUNJ” Burchill, the two commentators in charge of casting GamerLegion vs. C9, looked completely surprised by the play. “I’m going to be completely honest, I didn’t know you could do that,” SPUNJ said. The Australian commentator is also a former professional player, having competed in several international tournaments under the Renegades banner.

GamerLegion’s creative boost on Overpass also sparked a discussion in the CS:GO community. Many people were left thinking about what the IEM Rio Major rulebook says about this kind of play, like if it is considered pixel walking because at 14 seconds in the clip, it looks like iM’s character model is floating and not standing on the lamp.

Dot Esports has reached out to ESL and asked if the play is legal, but while we wait for the tournament organizer’s response, here’s what the rules say.

Section 2.10.4 of IEM Rio Major rulebook – Bugs and glitches

“The intentional use of any bugs, glitches, or errors in the game is forbidden,” ESL rulebook reads. “It is at the tournament administration’s discretion as to whether or not the use of said bugs had an effect on the match, and whether or not they will award rounds, or the match, to the opposing team, or if they will force a rematch. The usage of the following bugs is strictly forbidden. If any bug used is not listed here, it is at the tournament administration’s discretion whether or not a punishment is necessary:

• Moving through clipped areas where the movement is not intended by the design of the map (any walls, ceilings, floors, etc).
• The bomb may not be planted in a location where it cannot be defused.
• Planting the bomb in such a way that no one can hear the beeping sound, or the planting sound.
• Standing on top of teammates when such actions allow the player to peek over, under, and /or through a solid object (e.g. wall, box, ceiling) that should not be possible according to map design.
• Pixel walking. A player is considered to be pixel walking if they sit or stand on invisible pixels on the map, where there is no visible edge.
• Disrupting any map features with the use of items (e.g. stopping the train on Overpass).”

Update Nov. 4 7:24am CT: The boost used by GamerLegion on Overpass against Cloud9 during their 2-2 match in the Challengers Stage of the IEM Rio Major is legal, ESL told Dot Esports.