EliGE: "CS2 will become a game of one region"

Complexity Gaming's Jonathan "EliGE" Yablonovskiy expressed concerns about the current competitive system in CS2, which he feels is ineffective outside of Europe. He shared his views on the Last Free Nation Counter-Strike podcast on YouTube.

"I wanted to advocate for North America, but now I think we need to consider the whole world. If we don't see significant changes, CS2 will become a regional game by the end of next year. This issue affects not only North America but also Asia, Oceania.

I’m not saying it's not a problem... Well, it is a problem in terms of talent development and engaging young players with the game. If you look at Valorant... I’m not saying I’m in love with that professional scene; it has its issues, but it’s genuinely international. [Thorin: 'Oh yes, all regions play it. Well, except perhaps Africa...'] Exactly! And that's amazing! It would be great for CS2 if it was represented in at least two regions, but it seems like all processes are currently leading to Europe.

It’s not just about tournament operators, but also the distribution of points in RMR. If you don’t have local tournaments to earn points, your only chance to accumulate enough is to move to Europe. [Also, the ELO system], which seems quite flawed. Even now, it's affecting teams. For example, M80 couldn’t afford to play in the NA Revival Cup a couple of weeks ago because if they had lost to anyone in that event, they might have lost points and missed out on RMR. In the end, the system pushes us, and any top teams, to skip our regional tournaments."

In the same podcast, EliGE also discussed the difficulties Virtus.pro has faced since signing Denis "electroNic" Sharipov. Yablonovskiy noted issues with overlapping player roles and analysed the new style of the team’s in-game leader, Jame "Jame" Ali.