How a Banned CS2 Pro Stole SSDs and Ended His Career Forever

I still remember scrolling through my feed back in 2024 and seeing the headlines about nbgee12. Even now, two years later, it remains one of the most bizarre incidents in Counter-Strike esports history. The sheer stupidity of it still makes me shake my head.

It all went down at IEM Dallas 2024. Adam "nbgee12" Zanzoul, a 19-year-old professional player who had already been on thin ice, sneaked into a backstage area in the early hours of May 31st. He wasn't supposed to be there. He knew it. But he went anyway. The area was filled with equipment belonging to other players, including a pile of SSDs containing individual configurations and settings for matches. These drives are held by organizers to ensure competitive integrity, and Zanzoul helped himself to three of them. The victims? None other than Jake "Stewie2K" Yip, Nikola "NiKo" Kovač, and Guy "NertZ" Iluz—some of the biggest names in the scene.

He took the SSDs back to his hotel room at the Omni Dallas Hotel, which was connected to the venue. It didn't take long for ESL staff to notice something was off. They reviewed security footage, saw exactly what happened, and called in the Dallas Police. Zanzoul was detained, the drives were returned, and the ESL initially decided not to press charges. They handed him a five-year ban, but by the next day it was upgraded to a permanent one. FACEIT also permabanned him from their platform. Just like that, a professional career evaporated.

Now, the explanations. This is where it gets almost comical. In an interview with streamer Collin "CoJoMo" Moren, Zanzoul threw out a few possibilities. Maybe it was just trolling, he suggested. Or maybe he's simply a self-confessed "moron" who does "dumb things sometimes." He thought it wouldn't be a big deal and claimed he'd never done anything like this before. Later, when contacted by Dust 2, he added that he had been using marijuana and was high at the time. I can't help but roll my eyes. Being under the influence doesn't excuse walking into a restricted area at 4 a.m. and walking out with other people's property.

The community had even wilder theories. G2's m0nesy posted on his Telegram page that he heard the culprit wanted to download cheats onto the stolen SSDs. Whether that's true or not, the mere suggestion adds an extra layer of sleaze to the whole affair. Imagine training for years to compete at the highest level, only to have some kid potentially try to tamper with your settings. It’s infuriating.

Here's the kicker: Zanzoul had already been given a second chance. Just two months earlier, the ESL had commuted a previous 100-year ban under new policies. That ban itself was for ban evasion—yes, he had been banned and tried to sneak back in. He also had a history that included a FACEIT Pro League suspension for attempted match-fixing and a trail of offensive, unprofessional behavior both online and offline. Getting a clean slate after all that is almost unheard of in esports, and he threw it away for three SSDs.

As a player who grinds matchmaking every night, I feel a mix of anger and pity. I've seen toxic teammates rage and throw games, but what Zanzoul did transcends game-day tilt. It shows a fundamental lack of respect for the sport and everyone in it. Esports demand discipline, integrity, and a modicum of common sense. You don't get to walk onto a LAN stage and then rummage through your peers' hardware like it's a yard sale. The permanent ban was the right call, no question.

The aftermath was predictably brutal online. One comment from a user called BeautifulDimension56 stuck with me: “His brain gotta be studied in the future because what type of decision making is this?” I laughed, but it's a valid point. Risking your entire livelihood for something so trivial is mind-boggling. Zanzoul later said he was “genuinely disgusted by my behavior,” but those words felt hollow coming from someone with such a long record.

Two years on, in 2026, nbgee12 is a cautionary tale. He never returned to professional play. The incident spurred tighter backstage security at major tournaments and more robust player conduct policies. Whenever a new scandal breaks—like the recent wave of cheating allegations in online qualifiers—veterans in the scene dredge up this story as a reminder of how low things can go. For me, it’s a lesson that raw skill means nothing if you lack character. The SSDs were returned, but Zanzoul’s reputation never will be.

I still wonder what was going through his head at that moment. Three small drives ended a career that many would kill for. In the end, it wasn't a whiffed clutch or a lost final that defined him. It was a 4 a.m. decision that proved some second chances are truly wasted.