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Counter-Strike: Global Offensive cooldowns and bans are non-negotiable and cannot be removed or reduced by Steam Support.
If an automated cooldown or ban is determined to have been issued incorrectly, it will automatically be rolled back by our servers. If you wish to discuss this system with the community, you may do so here.
Competitive cooldowns exist to ensure that Counter-Strike matches are enjoyable for all players on the server. When a player commits actions which negatively impact the match and players in the match, they may receive a Competitive cooldown which keeps them from playing Competitive and Scrimmage matchmaking for a set period of time.
Competitive cooldowns will be issued regardless of whether or not an infraction was intentional and explicit warnings are given to players before committing an action that will result in a cooldown.
Competitive cooldowns are issued for the following reasons:
Any player who cannot remain connected or reconnect to the server in time will receive a Competitive cooldown. This may be caused by network, technical, or local issues with your machine, but any time a player leaves a Competitive server and does not reconnect in time a Competitive cooldown will be issued.
If you are experiencing network or technical issues that are causing Competitive cooldowns we suggest troubleshooting those issues before attempting to play another Competitive match. Please see our Troubleshooting Network Connectivity article for more information.
New players may win 2 Competitive matches in 24 hours before receiving an intentional Competitive cooldown. This cooldown exists to limit the impact new accounts can have on Competitive and Scrimmage matchmaking.
After 10 Competitive wins the new player cooldown is removed and there is no limit to the number of Competitive wins you may earn in 24 hours.
Competitive cooldowns are issued to players who kick too many teammates in Competitive matches. Regardless of if you called the vote or only pressed 'F1' to kick the player, doing this too often will result in a Competitive cooldown for your account.
Cooldowns for kicking too many teammates are only issued to players abusing the vote kick option. We have a number of systems in place to ensure these types of cooldowns are issued correctly, and if you find yourself playing with abusive teammates we suggest reporting them in-game instead; calling votes to kick a teammate should only be done in extenuating circumstances.
If you are kicked from too many Competitive matches your account will receive a Competitive cooldown. Like kicking too many teammates, there are systems in place to ensure cooldowns of this kind are only issued to players being kicked an excessive amount.
Explicit warnings are shown to players who wish to abandon Competitive matches. Choosing to abandon an incomplete Competitive match will result in a Competitive cooldown for your account.
Users experiencing network or technical issues may be disconnected from Competitive matches, resulting in a cooldown for abandoning or failing to reconnect to the match in time.
A player in a Competitive match who is AFK or not participating may be removed by the server. When this happens a Competitive cooldown will also be issued. If you find yourself needing to step away we recommend asking your teammates to call a timeout.
No. Regardless of the reason a Competitive cooldown was issued they cannot be removed from an account. You will need to wait for the cooldown to expire before you can again queue for Competitive matches.
Competitive cooldowns in CS:GO have four levels. When an account receives a Competitive cooldown, the cooldown level remains on the account for a one-week probationary period. Any additional cooldowns received during the one-week probationary period increases the amount of time players are restricted from matchmaking:
A week of clean play will reduce an account's cooldown level by one. An account whose cooldown level has been reduced to level 2 through clean play would receive a level 3 (24 hour) cooldown on their next infraction.
Please note that cooldown levels can exceed level 4. Players whose cooldown level exceeds level 4 will need an extended period of clean play to have their cooldown level reduce beneath level 3.
Your current cooldown level can be determined by the length of the last cooldown you have received:
Players who have been VAC banned can find information in the I've been VAC banned article. Additional information regarding VAC can be found in the Valve Anti-Cheat System (VAC) article.
An Overwatch ban will be issued to any account that is convicted for cheating or abusive behavior by Counter-Strike: Global Offensive's Overwatch system. More information about the Overwatch system can be found in the CS:GO Overwatch FAQ.
GSLT (Game Server Login Token) bans will be issued to server operators offering false inventories and/or profiles as a free or paid service via mods on their servers. More information about GSLT bans can be found in the GSLT ban FAQ.
Your Family Sharing privileges may be revoked and your account may be VAC banned if your Steam Family Sharing Library is used by others to conduct cheating or fraud. Additionally, VAC-banned games cannot be shared with other accounts
