FACEIT issued 109,232 bans during Season 8 as it increased action against cheating, smurfing, ban evasion, toxicity and platform abuse. The platform also returned 71.9 million Elo to more than 1.2 million players after overturning 570,791 affected matches.
The new Integrity Report covers enforcement between April 22 and August 4, 2026. Compared with Season 7, FACEIT issued 37% more bans per day and returned 29.3% more Elo.
Smurfing Produced Most Elo Returns
Smurfing remained the main reason for Elo reversals in Season 8. FACEIT actioned 61,849 accounts for smurfing or multiple-account abuse, which was 29.7% more per day than in Season 7.
Of the 71.9 million Elo returned during the season, 69 million came from smurfing cases. Cheating accounted for 1.49 million Elo, while ban evasion resulted in another 1.45 million Elo returned.
FACEIT’s July 27 ban wave removed 12,478 smurf accounts. The operation restored 20 million Elo before Season 9 placement matches began. FACEIT said the methods used for that wave have since become automated across the platform.
In addition, the platform issued 73,484 selfie re-checks based on multi-account credibility signals. A total of 26,555 flagged accounts did not complete verification and remain unable to enter matchmaking until they pass the check.
FACEIT Completes IOMMU and VBS Rollout
FACEIT issued 707 cheating bans in Season 8, a daily decrease of 22% compared with Season 7. However, the platform also handed out 1,365 bans for ban evasion.
The company linked the lower number of DMA-cheat bans to the completed rollout of IOMMU and VBS requirements. These security settings covered 88% of active FACEIT players at the start of Season 8.
Coverage reached 97.3% by June 2 and increased to 99.4% during the final week of the season. FACEIT has now made IOMMU and VBS mandatory for every player, reaching 100% platform coverage in Season 9.
Human Input Detection Launches
FACEIT launched Human Input Detection on August 5 after months of silent testing. The system analysed 2.7 million hours of gameplay in the final 30 days before it went live.
Testing started in spring with 3,128 monitored players and 48,000 analysed hours by mid-May. Two weeks later, FACEIT had monitored 8,181 players and reviewed 144,000 hours of gameplay.
The platform stated that more than 100 players were banned for cheating during the first week of Season 9 as a direct result of the new technique. FACEIT uses its large record of CS2 matches to develop behavioural models that can identify suspicious play.
Season 9 Brings Longer Cheating Bans
FACEIT updated its Ban Policy with the start of Season 9. Cheating bans increased from two years to five years, while attempts to evade a ban can now lead to a permanent suspension.
The platform also actioned 64,806 accounts for unsportsmanlike conduct during Season 8. FACEIT said the new policy is designed to impose stricter penalties on players who seriously disrupt matches, while considering the context of the game and a player’s previous behaviour.
