While players around the world have been trying to get an invite to the limited beta for Counter-Strike 2, former pro player Hovik ‘KQLY’ Tovmassian was granted access on his VAC banned account.
Players have been scrambling to get Counter-Strike 2 beta access as play-testing for the new game is underway. While some have put hours into CS:GO to see if the system will let them into the closed beta, former French pro player KQLY got access on his account that was banned from competitive play.
The former Titan player revealed on Twitter that the account he used to compete under has been given access to Counter-Strike 2 despite receiving a VAC ban in 2014.
Before the ban, the French player was on the come up in the European scene on teams like Team LDLC and Titan. After his ban, KQLY was benched and eventually released. He returned to pro play in 2017 for Vexed Gaming and eventually eFrog.
They gave me cs2 on my vac acc 😅 pic.twitter.com/vFEkQSpp63
— KQLY (@KQLY_) March 28, 2023
The former pro now works in the rental car business and has not competed in competitive Counter-Strike since 2019.
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VAC-banned player gained access to Counter-Strike 2 beta
Valve has said through its Counter-Strike 2 Twitter account that players are selected for the beta through multiple factors. Those include recent playtime, trust factor and players’ Steam account standings.
On Reddit, Ido Magal, the project lead for CS:GO, explained that every player who has attended a CS:GO Major was automatically granted access to Counter-Strike 2. He added that players on teams who appear in Valve’s Regional Standings were also selected to play the limited beta.
KQLY played at three Majors before his ban (DreamHack Winter 2013, EMS One Katowice 2014 and ESL One Cologne 2014).
The hunt for beta access will continue for other players, however, with some having even resorted to idling in CS:GO servers, though Valve has said that such a tactic is essentially a waste of time.