ESL has declared that Snap Tap will be banned from its Counter-Strike 2 tournaments.
The contentious keyboard feature, which gives players a huge edge while counter-strafing, will now be banned in the forthcoming ESL Pro League Season 20.
While acknowledging that there would be “some inconsistencies until detection and ways to enforce are in place,” ESL notes in a post that the ban is currently only applicable to live competitions. However, it also promises a follow-up with instructions for the feature’s use in online play in the future.
Rappy Snappy and other like assistants that yield the same result are also subject to ESL’s prohibition.
Earlier this month, the creators of Counter-Strike: Global Warfare (CS:GO) Valve declared that the functionality would not be permitted to be used on their official servers and that “automation (via scripting or hardware) that circumvents… core skills.”
Simultaneous Opposing Cardinal Directions (SOCD), also referred to as Snap Tap, is a function that allows only the most recent input to be recorded—even if other keys are still being held.
This provides a significant advantage while counter-strafing; the process of stopping one sideways movement and fast touching the A or D key in the opposite direction to immediately stop movement and improve the player’s aim accuracy. In traditional keyboards, the original key must be released before the opposing key may be pressed. This is a skill that players develop and is a fundamental mechanic for professional players to master in a variety of FPS games.
Snap Tap keyboards allow players to strafe by holding the first key and swiftly tapping the opposing key, resetting aim each time. This would effectively eliminate the need to understand the previously required mechanics, potentially eliminating the talent in strafing and counter-strafing.
Snap Tap was added to Razer’s Huntsman V3 Pro keyboard range via an upgrade in July and was quickly recognized as a game-changing feature for some titles.
