Valve permanently bans Counter-Strike players involved in match-fixing

Valve has said it will terminate its relationship with individuals who are found to "demonstrate a willingness" to sully the integrity of the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive eSports scene.

According to a post on the official CS:GO blog, Valve stated the it will "take whatever action necessary" to protect the integrity and "entertainment value" of professional matches.

"As the scene grows, it’s an unfortunate reality that some individuals will seek opportunities to take advantage of their fans," reads the statement.

"We will continue to take whatever action we think is necessary to protect the entertainment value created by professional Counter-Strike, including, on occasion, terminating our relationship with individuals who have demonstrated a willingness to exploit their fans’ faith in the integrity of the sport."

In January 2015, it was alleged that members of two professional teams were involved in match-fixing during Cevo Season 5 back in August 2014 - specifically iBUYPOWER and NetcodeGuides.com.

Valve investigated the allegations, confirmed the individuals indeed participated in match-fixing, and banned them from future tournaments.

The company said that while bans such as these can be "disruptive and painful" to members of the community, sometimes it's necessary.

"Back in January and early February 2015 we took action after we discovered that a small number of professional CS:GO players were engaged in match-fixing," states the post. "Our decision was to ban these players indefinitely from involvement in Valve-sponsored events. To clarify, the bans for these players are permanent, and players proven to have taken part in match-fixing will be permanently banned.

"We sincerely hope that we won’t have to issue more in the future."