FACEIT Bans Former Indian CS2 Pros Over Match Manipulation Allegations

FACEIT has issued bans against several former Indian Counter-Strike 2 professionals after allegations of misconduct surfaced, including match manipulation and admin abuse.

FACEIT issues bans on Indian CS2 player | Image: Valve

The controversy first appeared on the FACEITCom subreddit, where Reddit user ITACHI_Daisuki detailed claims of players manipulating matches to farm FACEIT points.

According to reports by Talkesport, the allegations also suggested that an admin known as “DarKPhoeniXC” may have assisted in these activities.

The players named in the thread included ChAmp, AIM-4-HeAD, PyR0_, Owned07, vel0city, RIDDLESDICE, and Recoilmaster.

Among them, ChAmp, Recoilmaster, and vel0city are notable for their past involvement in India’s competitive Counter-Strike scene. ChAmp and Recoilmaster represented Victores Sumus earlier this year, while vel0city previously played for Wasted Potential and Marcos.

The accusations ranged from admin-assisted manipulation and intentional disconnections to privacy violations, such as accessing other teams’ Matchroom chats.

Following an internal review, FACEIT staff member Keith confirmed that the players had knowingly violated tournament rules. As a result, the admin was removed and handed a year-long ban, while the players received three-month suspensions. Keith clarified that while there "is not enough conclusive evidence" to prove direct abuse of admin permissions, the group’s actions still breached FACEIT’s competitive integrity standards.