Competitive item restrictions

This article is for competitive play, based on the standard community competitive format.
The community competitive scene changes frequently. Some or all info may be outdated.

“

No sir! Click to listen — The Soldier on banned weapons

”

Within some competitive leagues, competitive item restrictions during matches are employed to ensure balanced gameplay. If players do attempt to use a restricted item, it is replaced with the stock item for that slot.

If new weapons are released in midst of a competition season, they will typically become restricted from play unless given approval by the league's administrators and team leaders. No items are restricted in Valve Competitive Matchmaking.

Item Whitelist

The item whitelist is a simple text file, item_whitelist.txt by default, with a simple binary switch after each value to determine whether it is enabled or not.

Weapon bans during a match are usually enforced by the use of an item whitelist (although some leagues use an honor system instead of a whitelist).

To enable a whitelist, simply define its name and location using the mp_tournament_whitelist command.

Example: mp_tournament_whitelist "cfg/item_whitelist.txt"

In order to restrict a weapon from being played, simply set the value to "0" next to the weapon's name.

Example: "The Shortstop" "0"

The same goes for allowing a weapon to be used, changing the value to "1" instead.

Example: "The Shortstop" "1"

One also has the ability to enable or disable all unlisted items on a whitelist by using the following paramater:

"unlisted_items_default_to" "0" or "1"

Using this command, one can easily build a whitelist adding only items they want allowed or banned, depending on the above parameter's value.

To obtain a full list of items that can be added to a whitelist, use the item_show_whitelistable_definitions command in the server console. sv_cheats "1" must be set on the server in order to use this command.

Here is a sample whitelist with all current definable items: Item_whitelist_stock.txt

List of restricted items

This list is currently not being regularly maintained. For more up-to-date information, please check the referenced links.

Class	Slot	Weapon	6v6	Highlander	4v4
Scout	Primary	Scattergun	Always
		Force-A-Nature	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Shortstop	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Soda Popper	Banned	Allowed	Optional
		Baby Face's Blaster	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Back Scatter	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
	Secondary	Pistol	Always
		Lugermorph	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		C.A.P.P.E.R	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Bonk! Atomic Punch	Banned	Allowed	Allowed
		Crit-a-Cola	Banned	Banned	Optional
		Mad Milk	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Mutated Milk	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Winger	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Pretty Boy's Pocket Pistol	Banned	Allowed	Allowed
		Flying Guillotine	Banned	Optional	Optional
	Melee	Bat	Always
		Holy Mackerel	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Unarmed Combat	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Batsaber	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Sandman	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Candy Cane	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Boston Basher	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Three-Rune Blade	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Sun-on-a-Stick	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Fan O'War	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Atomizer	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Wrap Assassin	Optional	Allowed	Allowed
	Cosmetics	Bootie Time	Banned	Banned	Banned
	Taunts	Battin' a Thousand	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Deep Fried Desire	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Boston Breakdance	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Carlton	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Runner's Rhythm	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Bunnyhopper	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Trackman's Touchdown	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Scooty Scoot	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Boston Boarder	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Spin-to-Win	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Homerunner's Hobby	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Killer Signature	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Foul Play	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Peace Out	Banned	Banned	Banned
Soldier	Primary	Rocket Launcher	Always
		Original	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Direct Hit	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Black Box	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Rocket Jumper	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Liberty Launcher	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Cow Mangler 5000	Banned	Allowed	Optional
		Beggar's Bazooka	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Air Strike	Allowed	Optional	Optional
	Secondary	Shotgun	Always
		Buff Banner	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Gunboats	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Battalion's Backup	Optional	Allowed	Allowed
		Concheror	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Mantreads	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Reserve Shooter	Banned	Allowed	Allowed
		Righteous Bison	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		B.A.S.E. Jumper	Optional	Allowed	Allowed
		Panic Attack	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
	Melee	Shovel	Always
		Equalizer	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Pain Train	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Half-Zatoichi	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Disciplinary Action	Banned	Allowed	Allowed
		Market Gardener	Optional	Allowed	Allowed
		Escape Plan	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
	Taunts	Fresh Brewed Victory	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Soldier's Requiem	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Fubar Fanfare	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Panzer Pants	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Rocket Jockey	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Profane Puppeteer	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Star-Spangled Strategy	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Neck Snap	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Can It!	Banned	Banned	Banned
Pyro	Primary	Flame Thrower	Always
		Nostromo Napalmer	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Backburner	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Degreaser	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Phlogistinator	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Rainblower	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Dragon's Fury	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
	Secondary	Shotgun	Always
		Flare Gun	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Detonator	Optional	Allowed	Allowed
		Reserve Shooter	Banned	Allowed	Allowed
		Manmelter	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Scorch Shot	Optional	Banned	Optional
		Panic Attack	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Thermal Thruster	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Gas Passer	Optional	Allowed	Allowed
	Melee	Fire Axe	Always
		Axtinguisher	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Postal Pummeler	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Homewrecker	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Maul	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Powerjack	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Back Scratcher	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Sharpened Volcano Fragment	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Third Degree	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Lollichop	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Neon Annihilator	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Hot Hand	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
	Cosmetics	Jingle Belt	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Infernal Orchestrina	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Burning Bongos	Banned	Banned	Banned
	Taunts	Party Trick	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Pool Party	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Balloonibouncer	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Headcase	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Skating Scorcher	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Scorcher's Solo	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Hot Wheeler	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Roasty Toasty	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Cremators Condolences	Banned	Banned	Banned
Demoman	Primary	Grenade Launcher	Always
		Loch-n-Load	Optional	Banned	Optional
		Ali Baba's Wee Booties	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Bootlegger	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Loose Cannon	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		B.A.S.E. Jumper	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Iron Bomber	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
	Secondary	Stickybomb Launcher	Always
		Chargin' Targe	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Scottish Resistance	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Sticky Jumper	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Splendid Screen	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Tide Turner	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Quickiebomb Launcher	Optional	Allowed	Allowed
	Melee	Bottle	Always
		Scottish Handshake	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Eyelander	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Horseless Headless Horsemann's Headtaker	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Nessie's Nine Iron	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Pain Train	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Scotsman's Skullcutter	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Claidheamh Mòr	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Ullapool Caber	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Half-Zatoichi	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Persian Persuader	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
	Taunts	Spent Well Spirits	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Oblooterated	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Bad Pipes	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Scotsmann's Stagger	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Pooped Deck	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Drunken Sailor	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Drunk Mann's Cannon	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Shanty Shipmate	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Roar O'War	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
Heavy	Primary	Minigun	Always
		Iron Curtain	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Natascha	Banned	Allowed	Optional
		Brass Beast	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Tomislav	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Huo-Long Heater	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
	Secondary	Shotgun	Always
		Sandvich	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Robo-Sandvich	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Dalokohs Bar	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Fishcake	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Buffalo Steak Sandvich	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Family Business	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Panic Attack	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Second Banana	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
	Melee	Fists	Always
		Apoco-Fists	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Killing Gloves of Boxing	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Gloves of Running Urgently	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Bread Bite	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Warrior's Spirit	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Fists of Steel	Banned	Allowed	Allowed
		Eviction Notice	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Holiday Punch	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
	Taunts	Proletariat Posedown	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Table Tantrum	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Boiling Point	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Russian Arms Race	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Soviet Strongarm	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Bare Knuckle Beatdown	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Russian Rubdown	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Road Rager	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Crushing Defeat	Banned	Banned	Banned
Engineer	Primary	Shotgun	Always
		Frontier Justice	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Widowmaker	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Pomson 6000	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Rescue Ranger	Banned	Allowed	Allowed
		Panic Attack	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
	Secondary	Pistol	Always
		Lugermorph	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		C.A.P.P.E.R	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Wrangler	Banned	Allowed	Optional
		Giger Counter	Banned	Allowed	Optional
		Short Circuit	Banned	Banned	Optional
	Melee	Wrench	Always
		Golden Wrench	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Gunslinger	Allowed	Allowed	Optional
		Southern Hospitality	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Jag	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Eureka Effect	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
	Taunts	Rancho Relaxo	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Bucking Bronco	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Dueling Banjo	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Jumping Jack	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Texas Truckin'	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Texas Twirl 'Em	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
Medic	Primary	Syringe Gun	Always
		Blutsauger	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Crusader's Crossbow	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Overdose	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
	Secondary	Medi Gun	Always
		Kritzkrieg	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Quick-Fix	Banned	Allowed	Optional
		Vaccinator	Banned	Allowed	Banned
	Melee	Bonesaw	Always
		Ubersaw	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Vita-Saw	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Amputator	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Solemn Vow	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
	Taunts	Meet the Medic	Allowed	Banned	Allowed
		Results Are In	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Surgeon's Squeezebox	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Time Out Therapy	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Mannbulance!	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Doctor's Defibrillators	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Head Doctor	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Borrowed Bones	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
Sniper	Primary	Sniper Rifle	Always
		AWPer Hand	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Huntsman	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Fortified Compound	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Sydney Sleeper	Banned	Allowed	Optional
		Bazaar Bargain	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Machina	Banned	Banned	Optional
		Shooting Star	Banned	Banned	Optional
		Hitman's Heatmaker	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Classic	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
	Secondary	SMG	Always
		Jarate	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Self-Aware Beauty Mark	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Razorback	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Darwin's Danger Shield	Allowed	Banned	Allowed
		Cozy Camper	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Cleaner's Carbine	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
	Melee	Kukri	Always
		Tribalman's Shiv	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Bushwacka	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Shahanshah	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
	Taunts	I See You	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Killer Solo	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Most Wanted	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Didgeridrongo	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Shooter's Stakeout	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Straight Shooter Tutor	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
Spy	Secondary	Revolver	Always
		Big Kill	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Ambassador	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		L'Etranger	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Enforcer	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Diamondback	Banned	Banned	Optional
	Melee	Knife	Always
		Sharp Dresser	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Black Rose	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Your Eternal Reward	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Wanga Prick	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Conniver's Kunai	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Big Earner	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Spy-cicle	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
	PDA2	Invis Watch	Always
		Enthusiast's Timepiece	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Quäckenbirdt	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Cloak and Dagger	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Dead Ringer	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
	Building	Sapper	Always
		Ap-Sap	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Snack Attack	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Red-Tape Recorder	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
	Taunts	Buy A Life	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Box Trot	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Disco Fever	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Luxury Lounge	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Travel Agent	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Tailored Terminal	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Teufort Tango	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Crypt Creeper	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Punchline	Banned	Banned	Banned
All classes	Weapons	Botkiller weapons	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Festive weapons	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
	Melee	Frying Pan	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Conscientious Objector	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Freedom Staff	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Bat Outta Hell	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Memory Maker	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Ham Shank	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Necro Smasher	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Crossing Guard	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Prinny Machete	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Saxxy	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Golden Frying Pan	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
	Cosmetics	Bombinomicon	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Pyrovision Goggles	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Balloonicorn	Banned	Banned	Banned
	Action items	Noise Maker	Banned	Banned	Banned
	Taunts	Director's Vision	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Schadenfreude	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		High Five!	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Shred Alert	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Conga	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Square Dance	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Skullcracker	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Flippin' Awesome	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Rock, Paper, Scissors	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Kazotsky Kick	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Burstchester	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Zoomin' Broom	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Mannrobics	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Second Rate Sorcery	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Victory Lap	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Yeti Punch	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Yeti Smash	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Fist Bump	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Scaredy-cat!	Banned	Banned	Banned
		Killer Joke	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Cheers!	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Mourning Mercs	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Unleashed Rage	Allowed	Allowed	Allowed
		Commending Clap	Banned	Banned	Banned