PGL allows smoke bug at CS:GO Antwerp Major; teams agree not to use it

The PGL allowed players to use a bug involving smoke grenades at CS:GO‘s PGL Antwerp Major earlier today—though players have agreed to not use it in the competition.

During the second day of the Legends Stage at the PGL Antwerp CS:GO Major, G2 Esports’ m0NESY showed a controversial use of a smoke grenade. When playing Imperial Esports on Mirage, the young sniper uses his own smoke, that when combined with the usual Window smoke from the terrorist side, creates a window of sight for the Window player. That way, m0NESY grabbed two kills in the third round against the Brazilian team.

Later on, the clip surfaced on Twitter, where various personalities from the Counter-Strike ecosystem discussed it. The Russian player himself admitted G2 had asked PGL during the Regional Major Rankings qualifier whether they can use this smoke or not, and they “allowed it to use.” And now, the Major’s organizer itself revealed teams are free to use it throughout the tournament.

The decision was revealed only 75 minutes before the first matches of the second day of the Legends Stage were scheduled to start. Since then, the teams voted not to use the bug exploit, a decision overseen by the CSPPA.

Several professional players voiced their concerns over this decision, saying the exploit could possibly be game-breaking and ruin the competitive integrity of the tournament. FaZe Clan’s Twistzz highlighted that the smoke bug could be used on every map, and not just Mirage.

“Makes no sense. This can potentially harm the tournament,” wrote former Virtus Pro player and a Major champion, TaZ. “Imagine pro teams searching for smoke bugs. From time to time, there will be a team, or a player who will not think twice tournaments responsibility is to bring them back in line,” he added.

Among the pro player, one opinion is voiced loud and clear—this decision isn’t right, and using smoke grenades in such a way should be forbidden. “It’s obvious nobody should be punished going back in time,” said ENCE’s Snappi, most likely referring to m0NESY’s yesterday’s use of the smoke. “But now that everyone knows what the bug is, there should be no debate. Ban lineup smokes for this bug for the remainder of the tournament,” he concluded.

The PGL Antwerp CS:GO Major continues today with the second day of the Legends Stage. You can check all the scores here.