ESL to exclude VAC-banned players

Last month, a major ban wave swept through the CS:GO community, catching thousands of players around the globe, including some well-known figures in the competitive scene.

The most famous case was that of Planetkey Dynamics member Anil "cLy" Gülec, who, despite having had his account banned, continues to reiterate his innocence.

Last week, Planetkey Dynamics reached the last-four stage of the ESL One Cologne southwest pre-qualifier, this way securing a place in the European finals, which will be played in two weeks' time.

However, the ESL has now introduced a new rule, which will come into effect immediately, to forbid any player that has been VAC-banned from taking part in the upcoming ESL One Cologne qualifiers and the main event itself.

"Any player who has been caught cheating by the game publisher's anti-cheat system (VAC) in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is not eligible to participate in this tournament," reads the new rule.

Moreover, the ESL stresses that, should they come across a team fielding a player who has been VAC-banned, said team will be disqualified from the tournament.