Valve levels the playing field in terms of Pro Counter-Strike
Valve is unhappy with the way Pro CS has been conducted over the last few years. so it's stepping in.
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Valve has apparently had it with the state of the Pro Counter-Strike scene as it has chosen to implement some new rules that should help make things a little fairer for everyone. Valve levels the playing field in terms of Pro Counter-Strike, but it could be a while before the changes take effect.
Game giant Valve makes changes to the Pro Counter-Strike Scene
On August 3rd, Valve posted an unexpected update to the events page for Global Offensive, it read:
There’s not too much to unpack here, but the changes that Valve intends to make should help get Pro CS back on track to being fair and skill-based, not based on who has a partnership with whom.
The changes proposed mean that Valve will be much more involved in tournament organizing than they currently are. Teams will no longer be permitted to have partnerships with tournament organizers and participants will be picked using Valve’s ranking system, or open qualifiers.
This is a step in the right direction says Chad ‘SPUNJ’ Burchill, in this HLTVorg video covering the changes.
As Valve states, these changes should make Professional Counter-Strike much more open and fair, where “ability is the only limit to success”, I for one think that is a fantastic line that shows just how dedicated Valve is to serving its fan base and making its game enjoyable for everyone.
Valve didn’t HAVE to do anything about this, but Valve saw an injustice in the professional scene of its game being taken in the wrong direction and it put a stop to it.
Not to mention the fact that Pro Counter-Strike will be a much more entertaining sport to watch when it’s the best of the best competing against each other, instead of some of the low-stakes partner games we’ve been getting in recent times. If you ask us, it’s about time Valve levels the playing field in terms of Pro Counter-Strike.
Pro Counter-Strike Prize pool changes
It seems that Prize pools will also be open to public inspection going forward, helping to include the public and promote transparency only serves to add value to the Pro scene as a whole.
We’re not sure if this will be adjusted to include things like sticker income from the Majors, but since partnerships are going the way of the Dodo, there are not many other “hidden” sources of income.
When will these changes take effect?
As stated, Valve expects these changes to take effect as late as 2025, this is due to some of the tournament organizers having existing long-term commitments to some teams.
Not only that, but it will give Valve time to hammer out some of the finer details, as a lot of what has been outlined in this post are just broad strokes.
We look forward to a better and fairer Pro Counter-Strike scene.
