CSGO pro Jamppi sues Valve over permanent VAC ban

Rising CSGO star Elias ‘Jamppi’ Olkkonen has reportedly sued Valve for damages over a permanent VAC ban that prevented the player from signing with OG.

Jamppi had his CS:GO career taken away from him before it even began. The rising Finnish star of European Counter-Strike was VAC banned in 2015, years before he started making waves in the professional scene.

Now, at 18, almost five years on, the player alleges the permanent suspension from Valve is damaging his career, and preventing him from doing his job.

According to a report by DBLTAP, Jamppi has filed legal proceedings against the multi-billion dollar developer over what the player claims is a false VAC ban.

The lawsuit, filed in Finland where Jamppi lives, alleges the player bought a copy of CS:GO for a friend in 2015 so they could play together at a LAN party. After the party, Jamppi sold the account, but received a VAC ban months afterwards.

When Jamppi contacted Valve to state he no longer had access to the account in question, the company allegedly told the player that the ban would remain.

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VAC bans prevent players from participating in Valve-sanctioned tournaments, but not ESL, Dreamhack, BLAST, or Flashpoint events. Jamppi alleges this was the reason he was unable to sign with OG, even after multiple attempts to contact Valve in regards to overturning the ban more recently.

Jamppi reportedly also reached out to the Counter-Strike Professional Players Association (CSPPA) to get assistance from the player’s union. While the union initially helped the Finn, discussions eventually went silent, according to reports.

The CSPPA declined to comment on the situation, saying that “it has evolved to a legal proceeding which CSPPA is not a party to.

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“We have earlier been in dialogue with the manager and the lawyer of Jamppi and will continue the dialogue and follow the case,” the union said in a statement. “It is the position of CSPPA the integrity of the game is of utmost importance.”

Under section 1C of the Steam Subscriber Agreement, users “may therefore not sell or charge others for the right to use your Account…other than if specifically permitted by Valve.”

Jamppi is currently signed with SJ Gaming, but hasn’t represented the organization since December 2019. Valve are yet to comment on proceedings.