It can be disappointing to encounter error messages like “You may only connect to this server from a lobby” on ESEA to disrupt your gaming experience. But there’s no need to worry!
Most of the time, it takes less than five minutes and a few clicks to fix such errors. Here, our resident CS:GO players will guide you through the best fixes:
Fix #1: Close the Game, Log Out of Steam, and Log Back In
As explained, you only need to leave the game, then log out of Steam. Afterward, log back in and join another lobby.

To log out of Steam, open the application, click on the game icon, choose the change account option, then click on the logout button.
Fix #2: Run Steam and ESEA as Admin
Another working method is to run Steam as an administrator [1]. This worked like a charm for us a few times. Here is how to go about it:
- Right-click the game in your Steam Library.
- Select the Local Files tab under properties.
- Select Browse Local Files from the menu.
- Next, locate the executable file for the game
- Right-click it and go to Properties.
- Then select the Compatibility tab.
- Run the program as an administrator.
- Click Apply.
Fix #3: Play the Game on Full Screen
Another method that’s effective is playing the game on full screen. The first thing you need to do is check the orientation of the game. If it’s not set in full screen, adjust the screen resolution to “full screen.”

Conclusion
Most of the time, the error “You may only connect to this server from a lobby” on ESEA can be solved by restarting and re-logging from Steam.
However, if this and the other fixes mentioned above don’t work, you can submit a support ticket to ESEA so they can directly help you fix this issue.