Only a few games can boast a pro scene as lively as the one Counter-Strike: Global Offensive has. Even before the game was released, Valve enjoyed a healthy esports market with previous Counter-Strike games such as 1.6 and Source having its own share of pros. With a decade of tournaments, CS:GO has plenty of esports experience under its belt. Yet, this does not mean Valve stops changing the competition to make it fair and healthy.

In a new statement, Valve announced its policy to change the way tournaments worked in the future. Starting in 2025, deals between tournaments and individual teams will no longer be permitted to make it an even playing field.

Valve changes Counter-Strike tournament policies

CS:GO tournaments used to follow a standard pattern of organizing these events. However, in the last few years, a practice that emerged was teams making deals with tournament organizers. These essentially saw a guaranteed spot for said team, a share of the revenue from the tournament, as well as the team giving preference to said event. This has raised a lot of controversy. Astralis’ association with Blast organizers through owners made a lot of noise. It saw the team snub other events in favor of Blast-organized tournaments.

Valve has changed all of that with its latest update in policies. They have placed a blanket ban on tournament organizers and teams having any form of deals or business relationships. They believe it raises a conflict of interest. Moreover, the idea of a guaranteed spot will be gone under new regulations. Tournament organizers must use either Valve’s ranking system or open qualifiers to see who gets a spot in the brackets.

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Additionally, any money tournament organizers pay to teams is subject to scrutiny by Valve as well as the community, to ensure it follows these guidelines. The idea that Valve intends to bring is important to the Counter-Strike esports scene. Because of agreements organizers have with teams, smaller organizations rarely get the chance to play in the event. Unless they go through an arduous qualification process or establish themselves as a big name, it is very difficult for them to find a spot.

What do these changes bring?

The new system tries to make it a fair fight for all teams trying to compete in an event. The current system seems rewarding only to established teams, ones that have been around for years. As a result, the changes are an important step in making the esports scene competitive as Counter-Strike 2 approaches.

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Additionally, Valve recognized the impracticality of applying these regulations immediately. Because organizers already have deals in place, the regulations will come in 2025. It looks like these changes have the potential to make Counter-Strike 2’s esports scene even better!

What are your thoughts on Valve’s new policies? Do you think they will work? Let us know in the comments below!

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