ESL to evaluate FaZe acquisition to avoid any conflict of interest

ESL is now examining the potential impact of GameSquare’s planned acquisition of FaZe on any of its upcoming Counter-Strike events.

Just a few days after the announcement of FaZe’s acquisition by GameSquare, ESL launched a review of the deal to analyze its implications on the CS:GO scene. GameSquare is a parent company of Complexity Gaming, which is also an ESL-partnered team as part of the ‘Louvre Agreement’ deal. This could cause potential issues with ESL’s Counter-Strike tournaments when the acquisition goes through later this year.

Challenges arising from GameSquare’s joint ownership of Complexity and FaZe

Both Complexity and FaZe Clan compete in the same franchised competitions for several games, such as Rocket League, 343 Industries’ Halo Infinite, and Counter-Strike leagues. Owning two teams that compete against one another, is generally forbidden in any major competition. The main focus, however, is on Counter-Strike, where both Complexity and FaZe are partnered team with one of the biggest esports event organizers ESL.

The conflict was recently on display at IEM Sydney, where the two teams competed in the Grand Final of the event. While FaZe Clan came out on top in the finals, both the squads are still subjected to the review by ESL to avoid any potential conflict in future CS:GO events.

Both teams are the cornerstones of Counter-Strike, so ensuring they never face off in high-level competition is impossible, especially since they are members of the ‘Louvre Agreement,’ which ensures invites to some of the most prestigious ESL tournaments, including the ESL Pro League.

Counter Strike has announced huge updates for the future of CS2, no longer allowing business relations between TO’s and teams. Goodbye franchise and partner teams, hello to a more open circuit

This will take full effect in 2025. Huge for CS pic.twitter.com/BZwog06W8r

— Jake Lucky (@JakeSucky) August 3, 2023

 

FaZe and Complexity are also associated with BLAST, therefore the purchase will cause issues that go beyond ESL contests. Both teams are on track to compete in the PGL CS2 Major qualification round, which is set for early 2024. FaZe and Complexity will probably face further challenges as a result of Valve’s shared ownership policy, which will probably prevent the two teams from participating in Valve-sponsored events together.

According to a statement that Valve has made about joint ownership and other types of conflicts of interest, teams that are owned by the same company will not be permitted to attend any Valve-sponsored event together.

Countless speculations have come to light in response to the FaZe takeover, with some claiming that one of these teams would permanently depart the CS esports scene. Despite their enormous success in the game, FaZe’s Counter-Strike team is probably going to be cut loose, with the squad going to the highest bidder. Russel “Twistzz” Van Dulken is reportedly already on his route to join Team Liquid, and other players are making similar cryptic hints through their social media posts.

Header: ESL Gaming