Finnish CS:GO Player Jamppi Sues Valve Over Alleged VAC Ban

Finnish Counter-Strike AWPer Elias "Jamppi" Olkkonen is suing Valve Corporation for alleged damages stemming from a connection to a VAC-banned account the suit alleges prevented him from signing with OG, according to documents obtained by DBLTAP. 

The lawsuit, filed in Finland, alleges Jamppi purchased a second copy of CS:GO in 2015, when he was 14-years-old, in order to allow a friend to play with him at a LAN party. Following that occasion, the suit alleges Jamppi sold the account to the friend, and the account would later receive a VAC ban. When Jamppi contacted Valve in an attempt to clear his name from the aforementioned account, he was allegedly informed the ban would remain and he would not be allowed to participate in Valve-sanctioned Major tournaments.

The connection to a VAC-banned account prevented Jamppi from signing a contract with OG, the lawsuit alleges. OG would eventually sign Mateusz "mantuu" Wilczewski to be the fifth member of its inaugural CS:GO team, joining Nathan "NBK” Schmitt, Aleksi “Aleksib” Virolainen, Valdemar “valde” Bjørn and Issa “ISSAA” Murad. Multiple attempts from Jamppi’s camp to communicate with Valve after that point were ignored, according to the lawsuit.

Requests for comment to representatives from Valve were not answered.

Despite initial correspondence with the Counter-Strike Professional Players Association (CSPPA) late last year, the players union has ignored recent requests to provide support for the player, according to sources with knowledge of the situation. Jamppi has been a member of the CSPPA since his negotiations with OG in October.

When reached for comment, a spokesperson for the CSPPA gave the following statement:

"CSPPA cannot comment on this specific case simply because it has evolved to a legal proceeding which CSPPA is not a party to, because we don’t hold all the details or facts of the matter, and because Jamppi has attaint individual legal representation by a lawyer in Finland. We have earlier been in dialogue with the manager and the lawyer of Jamppi and will continue the dialogue and follow the case.

"Generally, it is the position of CSPPA that the integrity of the game is of utmost importance. We all want and need a fair game, and we accept that players may be punished in specific cases, including integrity violations. But it is of course also important for CSPPA that players in a specific case will have a due process and a proportionate and fair punishment. Some players make mistakes in a very young age, which CSPPA also think needs to be take into account."

Jamppi, now 18, has been a professional player since 2017 with multiple Finnish esports organizations. After joining NYYRIKKI Esports for a brief trial, he found himself with SuperJymy until early 2019. From there he joined SJ Gaming and played for them until December before going on the inactive list, where he remains now.