The makers of Counter-Strike, Valve, are in the midst of a transformative reform in the esports landscape in light of the imminent CS2 release. These modifications are transitioning the competition towards a fully inclusive model, thereby terminating the established “permanent partner” squad structure in primary leagues.
In a write-up captioned “A Level Playing Field”, Valve expressed that the professional Counter-Strike has deviated from its open-access nature with the access to top-tier competitive play being increasingly curtailed by commercial ties. This seemingly implicates ESL Pro League and BLAST Premier, two notable leagues of the game that possess their distinct cooperative teams and standings.
Valve made an announcement regarding three new prerequisites which will be effective from 2025, exclusively for organizing large-scale matches. Firstly, there must not be any exclusive business ties or potential conflict of interest between the tournament organizers and the teams in competition. Secondly, the invitations to every competition will be governed by Valve’s ranking structure or via open qualifiers. Lastly, any remuneration provided to competing teams, like prize cash, has to be publicized and should be propelled by objective standards subject to community scrutiny.
Teams earlier offered direct invitation to ESL and BLAST tournaments as enduring partners will most significantly be affected by this. Starting 2025, these teams will not be entitled to receive direct invitations.
Invites to tournaments will hereafter rely on Valve’s rating mechanism that presently includes regional rankings for Americas, Europe, and Asia.
On a broader scale, this step by Valve seeks to foster a more balanced competition landscape for all teams and intensify the rivalry in Counter-Strike esports, paving the way for the forthcoming CS2.