In a ban spanning several lifetimes and then some, the third-party Counter-Strike tournament service ESEA has banned a user until 3016 for allegedly harassing a minor.

The ESEA is an esports community that runs a popular online Counter-Strike league. In late December, its security got breached in a big way. Now the details of that breach are coming to light, with 1.5 million users affected after the ESEA refused to pay a hacker $US100,000 ($135,839).

Matchmaking in Counter-Strike is often an exercise in tolerance. It's even more intense in third-party matchmaking services, as those are generally only frequented by those truly devoted to the game. Naturally, that devotion often manifests in the form of teammates belittling each other, rage wars over the mic, and a general refusal to behave like decent human beings.

ESEA runs one such service, although they're not responsible for their users getting cranky. But they've just given top players US$20,000 reasons to get even angrier at their teammates.

If you haven't watched a great deal of Counter-Strike before, let me fill you in on a little secret: there's an awful lot of downtime. That's especially the case if you're watching events that aren't being hosted at a major conference or convention. In those cases, the break between halves, pauses or just general downtime often involves just staring at a motionless player.

Fortunately, the lack of action has given rise to something brilliant: DJ Prius. He's one of the observers who controls the spectator camera for ESL/ESEA broadcasts, and he's a bit of a legend.