Ukrainian org Inner Circle signs 7-year-old talent; faced with six-year ban on FACEIT

Today on X, Ukrainian esports organization Inner Circle announced the signing of a 7-year-old (you read that right) Counter-Strike 2 player. The youngster, who goes by the aliases kiberkatlleta or DAVI666 and has purportedly been playing the game since he was 4 years old. The novel signing of the "2nd-grader" comes after a number of organizations have signed increasingly younger players as part of developmental/marketing programs seemingly emulating the youth programs of traditional sports.

As for what Inner Circle intends on doing with the 7-year-old remains to be seen, as the youth can obviously not compete in mainstream competitions and in honesty is likely unready for any serious practice or team sessions.

Many have pointed out that DAVI666 is level six on FACEIT which is quite impressive for such a young players, however the attention has already led to an unsurprising ban on the platform. As explained by FACEIT's Director of Product for Integrity Amir Arshad, FACEIT's Terms of Service require all players to be 13 years old:

Hey, just to provide some additional context on this situation.

We absolutely don't want to discourage a young player from pursuing something they enjoy. However, our Terms & Conditions clearly state that users under the age of 13 cannot create or use a FACEIT account due to the legal and regulatory obligations associated with providing online services to children. Once we become aware of an underage account, we are required to take action.

This action is not a judgement on the player's ability or potential. It is simply a matter of complying with the rules and legal responsibilities that apply to our platform.

We look forward to welcoming him back to FACEIT when he meets the minimum age requirements, just as we have done in similar situations in the past, such as with DaBoy.

While some have complained about the ban, it must be said that FACEIT are obliged to follow their policies when it comes to protecting children and personal information. In the United States, for example, the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act is fairly stringent on how websites treat users under 13 years old and what kinds of information they may collect on those users.

The policy aligns with how FACEIT have treated other youths who have attempted to use their platform like nine-year-old Am1r_Han.