Can the players see the enemy in CounterStrike?

The counterstrike wiki states the following in regards to spectating:

In Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, non-dead player spectators are allowed to use the X-ray by pressing a key (default X). When turned on, the team-colored silhouette of all players is shown through the walls. For instance, a blue aura will display a CT player. Grenade trails are also shown in their respective hues.

In casual matches, dead players are allowed to spectate both their teammates and their enemies, as well as view in either first person, chase cam or free cam. Team chat (both text and voice) is disabled when the player spectates in this mode.

In competitive matches, dead players can only watch their teammates in first person. However, unlike in casual mode, players can chat or use their microphones to communicate regardless of their current status. The HUD for non-dead player spectators in Competitive matches also show the equipped weapon and equipments, health and armor for all 10 players.

In bomb defusal games (regardless of casual or competitive) if the C4 has been planted and the entire Terrorist team is dead, the spectator view for dead Terrorist players will focus only on the C4. Also, when spectating a competitive game, the C4 is outlined in yellow when dropped, red if planted and green when defused.

In game modes that do not allow players to respawn, bots can be controlled by their respective team members who were killed in the same round. This has garnered some controversy, especially in casual mode, as spectating players can see the enemy's position, take control of a bot, and quickly eliminate opponents.

Recap In casual play the text and voice chat are disabled to prevent cheating. In competitive matches players can only see their teammates.


No. Players in a competitive setting cannot see the outline of other players, teammates or otherwise. Allowing other players to see this would be literally giving all players a wallhack.

Other similar spectator vision assistance, like replacing flashbang screen whiteout with text that says "Blinded" is also not enabled for anyone but spectators.