After more than a decade, Joshua “steel” Nissan and Braxton “brax” Pierce, former Counter-Strike pros, have been cleared to compete in official Valve events again, following their involvement in the infamous iBUYPOWER match-fixing scandal. They can now take part as players, coaches, or analysts at The Major.
Following a ten-year hiatus from professional Counter-Strike competition, they now have the freedom to explore any prospects that come their way.
The Doors to the Counter-Strike Major are Finally Re-opened
Back in August 2014, I found myself as part of the iBUYPOWER CS:GO team, and we intentionally lost a match against NetcodeGuides.com. In an unusual twist, we had betted against ourselves on a CS skin gambling site called CSGOLounge. Although some suspicious activity was noticed right after the game, it wasn’t until January 2015 that journalist Richard Lewis exposed the incident in his report. Within just two weeks following its publication, Valve imposed permanent bans on everyone involved, effectively barring us from participating in any events associated with them.
Due to these restrictions, along with similar bans from prominent event organizers like ESL, the careers of the players in question came to a halt since they couldn’t compete in significant tournaments anymore. This left them with very few team opportunities. In 2017, some of their bans were lifted by organizations such as ESL and DreamHack; however, the bans imposed by Valve remained permanent in 2016. Five years later, in 2020, both steel and brax moved to VALORANT, with steel experiencing some level of success playing for 100 Thieves.
2023 marked the year when Valve decided to rescind their permanent bans, instead setting them to expire after a decade. Now, that fated expiration date has arrived, and these players are once again eligible to engage in or represent Counter-Strike Majors. The IEM Katowice broadcast featured a small tribute for steel, who has been an analyst on stream for several years. During this segment, steel reflected, “I’ve learned a tough lesson not just for myself, but for everyone in the tier two scene.
As a dedicated gamer, I’ve seen a lot of chatter within our community about the length of bans imposed by Valve for quite some time now. Interestingly, it was Richard Lewis who brought this up in a petition shortly after his initial report back in 2015, advocating for the removal of these indefinite bans. Over the years, opinions have varied, with some players feeling that the bans should be lifted earlier as they’ve already served their time. However, others believe that maintaining strict penalties is essential to discourage future match-fixing incidents.
After spending a decade with these athletes, is it time for a change? Feel free to contribute your thoughts in the comments section below or visit our TopMob forums for an engaging discussion.
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2025-01-29 21:18