A pattern of stickers spelling out the N-word on a Desert Eagle skin caught the attention of several viewers during a professional Counter-Strike 2 match broadcast. The CS2 player using the skin has addressed it, claiming that they didn’t realize what was being displayed.
While the player may not have noticed during the match, the CS2 community certainly did, and so did the tournament organizer.
During an online match in the ESL Challenger League in Europe, 9Pandas player Vladislav “Krad” Kravchenko was spotted using a Desert Eagle with a pattern of stickers spelling out the N-word. The stickers are mirrored because Krad plays left-handed, but it’s still very clear what the original sticker placement was trying to do.
The sticker spelling resulted in a post on the primary Counter-Strike subreddit, where many speculated that Krad received the skin recently in a trade, and wouldn’t know what was on it until getting into a game. On X, Krad provided his explanation, claiming he had bought the skin less than a week ago and didn’t notice the word spelled out because he plays left-handed.
When someone buys a skin through Steam or another market, the listing itself doesn’t include the sticker pattern. However, Steam and most markets offer players the option of inspecting the weapon in-game before buying. Additionally, the in-menu weapon inspection screen is always right-handed, even if the player’s settings are left-preferred, so an inspection would clearly show the inappropriate pattern.
The ability for players to have custom control over where they apply stickers was added almost a year ago. Immediately, players used the new feature to apply various NSFW words and designs. On January 22, 2025, Krad stated via his Telegram account that he has received a two week ban from ESL because of the Deagle.
Have you ever traded for a skin that had an inappropriate sticker pattern on it? Let us know down below, and join more discussions in the official Insider Gaming forums.
For more Insider Gaming, check out our coverage of NiP receiving a $40 million investment from Abu Dhabi.
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