diff --git a/sp/src/public/tier1/mapbase_matchers_base.h b/sp/src/public/tier1/mapbase_matchers_base.h
index 74b2cbc9..beb1d869 100644
--- a/sp/src/public/tier1/mapbase_matchers_base.h
+++ b/sp/src/public/tier1/mapbase_matchers_base.h
@@ -36,6 +36,9 @@ bool Matcher_NamesMatch_Classic( const char *pszQuery, const char *szValue );
 // szValue = The value tested against the query. This value can use wildcards as well.
 bool Matcher_NamesMatch_MutualWildcard( const char *pszQuery, const char *szValue );
 
+// Returns true if the specified string contains a wildcard character.
+bool Matcher_ContainsWildcard( const char *pszQuery );
+
 // Taken from the Response System.
 // Checks if the specified string appears to be a number of some sort.
 static bool AppearsToBeANumber( char const *token )
diff --git a/sp/src/tier1/mapbase_matchers_base.cpp b/sp/src/tier1/mapbase_matchers_base.cpp
index 5f10814e..85cdb6e1 100644
--- a/sp/src/tier1/mapbase_matchers_base.cpp
+++ b/sp/src/tier1/mapbase_matchers_base.cpp
@@ -16,6 +16,7 @@
 #include "minmax.h"
 
 ConVar mapbase_wildcards_enabled("mapbase_wildcards_enabled", "1", FCVAR_NONE, "Toggles Mapbase's '?' wildcard and true '*' features. Useful for maps that have '?' in their targetnames.");
+ConVar mapbase_wildcards_lazy_hack("mapbase_wildcards_lazy_hack", "1", FCVAR_NONE, "Toggles a hack which prevents Mapbase's lazy '?' wildcards from picking up \"???\", the default instance parameter.");
 ConVar mapbase_regex_enabled("mapbase_regex_enabled", "1", FCVAR_NONE, "Toggles Mapbase's regex matching handover.");
 
 //=============================================================================
@@ -121,6 +122,14 @@ bool Matcher_NamesMatch(const char *pszQuery, const char *szValue)
 			return Matcher_Regex( pszQuery+2, szValue );
 		}
 	}
+	else if (pszQuery[0] == '?' && pszQuery[1] == '?' && pszQuery[2] == '?' && mapbase_wildcards_lazy_hack.GetBool())
+	{
+		// HACKHACK: There's a nasty issue where instances with blank parameters use "???", but Mapbase's lazy wildcard code
+		// recognizes this as essentially meaning "any name with 3 characters". This is a serious problem when the instance
+		// specifically expects the game to interpret "???" as a blank space, such as with damage filters, which crash when targeting
+		// a non-filter entity.
+		return false;
+	}
 
 	return Matcher_RunCharCompare( pszQuery, szValue );
 }
@@ -200,6 +209,23 @@ bool Matcher_NamesMatch_MutualWildcard(const char *pszQuery, const char *szValue
 	return false;
 }
 
+// Returns true if a string contains a wildcard.
+bool Matcher_ContainsWildcard(const char *pszQuery)
+{
+	if ( pszQuery == NULL )
+		return false;
+
+	while ( *pszQuery )
+	{
+		unsigned char cQuery = *pszQuery;
+		if (cQuery == '*' || cQuery == '?')
+			return true;
+		++pszQuery;
+	}
+
+	return false;
+}
+
 // Matcher_Compare is a deprecated alias originally used when Matcher_Match didn't support wildcards.
 /*
 bool Matcher_Compare(const char *pszQuery, const char *szValue)