No more franchised CS2 tournaments: Valve major announcements

Valve, the company behind Counter-Strike, wants to make CS2 esports fairer for all teams. They have announced a new approach to achieve this by preventing tournament organizers from directly inviting teams to their events.

Organizers will now have to follow Valve’s ranking system to pick teams that can participate in tournaments. Otherwise, there is always a second option which is open qualifiers. This change aims to create an equal opportunity for all teams to showcase their skills and compete on a level playing field.

No more exclusive partnerships: CS Esports will be an open sport

Valve wants to tackle the problem of exclusive partnerships between tournament organizers and teams, which have made the Counter-Strike esports scene less accessible to others. They believe that Counter-Strike should be an open and inclusive sport. To achieve this, Valve is implementing new guidelines for hosting big competitive events.

• No exclusive relationships with teams allowed for tournament organizers, to ensure fairness and eliminate favoritism.
• Invitations are based on merit through Valve’s ranking system or open qualifiers, promoting equal opportunity for all teams.
• Transparent compensation, including prize pools, is made public and guided by objective criteria for increased trust and accountability.

Moreover, Valve is emphasizing the importance of transparency regarding financial deals between organizers and teams. They want prize pools and other rewards offered to teams to be openly disclosed and made available to the public. This move aims to promote fairness and clarity within the esports ecosystem.

Due to the existing commitments of tournament organizers to franchise leagues and partner teams, the new requirements will be implemented in 2025. Valve acknowledges that there might be some challenges during the transition, but they are determined to prioritize the long-term well-being of Counter-Strike as a sport.

The community welcomes the Valve decision

Although the changes may impact the revenue of third-party organizers, the response from esports fans and competitors has been mostly positive. The move is seen as a step towards creating a fairer and more open competitive environment for Counter-Strike esports, which is welcomed by the community.

We will shift our tournament revenue sharing model from selected teams to all teams participating starting in 2025. We will announce more details on this in the coming months.

— Ulrich Schulze (@theflyingdj) August 3, 2023

Ulrich Schulze, the Senior Vice President of Game Ecosystems at ESL FACEIT Group, mentioned that they plan to change how they share tournament revenue. Instead of only giving it to selected teams, they will share it with all participating teams starting in 2025. More information will be released in the upcoming months.

Header: Valve/ Counter-Strike