FACEIT Issues Huge 12,478 Account Ban Wave in Anti-Smurfing Measure

FACEIT has announced the banning of 12,478 accounts in a huge crackdown on Counter-Strike smurf accounts ahead of the August 5 start of Season 9 on the platform.

FACEIT is a digital matchmaking platform that is part of ESL FACEIT Group with over 30 million registered users globally, preferred by many competitive Counter-Strike players for its superior anti-cheat and servers relative to the base game.

The platform hosts thousands of esports tournaments across Counter-Strike, Overwatch, Call of Duty, and others, making up an important part of the online infrastructure for esports.

20 million Elo refunded to players in Smurfing ban wave

FACEIT posted the following on social media to inform over half a million players that they would have some Elo restored after their games were impacted by smurfs:

“Today we banned 12,478 accounts for smurfing and multi-account abuse, using new detection methods that now run automatically. 20 million Elo has been restored to 544,098 players, so it counts toward the start of Season 9 on August 05.”

In total, 13,645 accounts were banned on July 27 for all reasons, a significant spike from the average daily bans, which fluctuate between roughly 300-900. That ban wave represents roughly 45% of the 30,000 total bans in the last 30 days.

The bans were separated into two categories, providing a permanent ban to smurf accounts and a one-month ban to the respective main account of the smurfing player. The one-month ban has been criticized by some players as too lenient, and a “slap on the wrist,” according to one X user.

Darwin, the Community Manager for FACEIT, clarified the differing bans to a user complaining about the leniency to accounts that received a temporary ban, emphasizing that the infringement punishment will be tripled next season:

“Just to clarify, the account you’re referring to is their main account, not the smurf. That’s the higher Elo account you played against, so you weren’t at a disadvantage, as they were playing on their actual account and at their real skill level.

“The players who faced the smurf account are the ones who receive their Elo back, as those matches are considered unfair. The length of these bans is also increasing in Season 9, with main account smurfing bans rising from 30 days to 3 months.”

Do you think a 3-month ban is enough? You can discuss that and more on our Discord server

Also, see our BLAST Bounty Season 2 Finals preview, and for even more Insider Gaming delivered directly to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter!