Covid question of the week: Is online CS:GO hurting the tier 1 scene and eventually killing the scene?

The series continues with one the more heavy topics in these covid times and my simple response whenever I hear this is “Not at all, the CS:GO scene has never been stronger than now”. Why is that? Let me share some thoughts.

So, first thing’s first. The panic and outrage seem to mainly come from more upsets happening against and among the tier one teams of the scene. This comes as a direct result of the tier 2/3 teams now actually having opportunities to come up against the best.

The major leagues and tournaments have moved online and the only difference here is that the big teams are no longer on a live stage and there are things such as ping to consider. So for these events I can agree that the forced online setting can be hurtful. However, outside of this the playing field is equal for everyone. ?

We have seen a surge in tournaments come up for the lower tier teams and they are as big or even bigger than some of the known big tournaments in terms of prices. This in return means that we have tons of teams stepping their game up. They are more focused, more motivated AND they pull a BIG following. Another thing this brings is a new opportunity for these lower rated teams to grind points on the HLTV rankings. That means that they can eventually get to a point where they get to play against tier 1 teams just based on their ranking. This is when they get to show what they are made of and as we have seen time and time again, these teams will take the opportunity and fight with all they have! This means that the exclusive club of the tier 1 scene is under attack and the teams there have to prove their worth.

I have heard numerous excuses like “The tier 1 teams are not used to playing this many maps per week, so they cant prepare”, “Tier 1 teams are not used to online gameplay and cant adapt because LAN will be back soon”, “Online CS:GO is random, not structured and bigger teams cant prepare properly”. All I hear is excuses and “bullshit” that no one should give serious thought to. Adapt or die has been a driving factor for esports from the start.

Playing 3-6 maps a week is a luxury that only tier 1 teams have. The tier 2/3 teams knocking at their door plays 9 - 30 maps a week. The lower tier teams have a lot less time to prepare, so when they come up against tier 1 teams, they put their hearts and soul into that map series. Then the higher ranked teams simply have to show up and show why they deserve the higher rank. Online CS:GO is not something that only came with Covid. These players have played thousands of hours online and will have to continue to do so even when LAN events are back. If both teams are playing with 20 – 50 MS and things are even it is a fair game and skill will be the deciding factor.

The surge of tournaments in the tier 2/3 scene has done amazing things for our beloved CS:GO community. I for one hope and pray that these tournaments will stick around for years to come even when LAN events are back. We need these tournaments to showcase all the amazing talent out there and we need this to keep everyone on edge and fresh. There should always be the treat of someone young and hungry coming for your spot!?

I dream of seeing tournaments like Snow Sweet Snow (Spring sweet spring, sun sweet sun etc), Elisa Invitational and European Development Championship in ALL major esports titles. It would make us a serious contender to mainstream sports and make it a viable career choice for thousands more than todays structure. So hat’s off to these amazing tournament hosts and the people behind them!