Last night, Evil Geniuses launched Blueprint: a 15-man roster consisting of their team along with Carpe Diem and Party Astronauts. Essentially, the organization has one main roster and two academy teams to switch players between to form the best roster. But what does this mean for the other two rosters?
The North American CSGO Circuit is small. The pandemic isolated the NA region of CSGO, and many of the players switched to Valorant. There are only a handful of top-tier tournaments in NA that, previously, EG, Carpe Diem, and Party Astronauts all competed in. Now, however, that will not be possible.
I spoke to ESIC Commissioner Ian Smith regarding the potential conflict of interest that could arise, and here is what he had to say: “I have previously made it clear that TO’s should have clear and firm rules regarding conflicts of interest arising from either multiple rosters (like Evil Geniuses) or overlapping ownership/investment in teams. It is clearly an actual or potential breach of competitive integrity and should be prohibited throughout each game vertical in esports – no exceptions.”
With the “firm rules regarding conflicts of interest arising,” only one five-man roster from Evil Geniuses can compete in any tournament. In the ESL Pro League, the Major, and other tier-one tournaments, ten of the fifteen players under the organization can not participate.
Important to note that these rules count for the qualifiers as well.
While this roster setup may counter tournament fatigue and improve training conditions in NA, it might be limited in its potential to develop players to the highest echelons of CSGO.
What will happen when more than five of these players have the skill to play in the Major and are upset because they can not? With the way the CSGO circuit is set up, the organization will have to make tough choices on what players get the chance to shine on the biggest stage.
And more importantly: what players won’t get that chance.
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