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A dummies guide to criticizing the CGS
I don't earn money from competitive gaming, I don't play either version of Counter Strike, and I've no obligation to promote anyone but myself. In short, I've no reason to lie and no reason to hate the Championship Gaming Series. They're an organisation who do a lot more for players than most, but that doesn't mean they're perfect and I'm going to explain why.
By Richard '_evan' Armstrong
Mar 1, 2008 08:49
I don't earn money from competitive gaming, I don't play either version of Counter Strike, and I've no obligation to promote anyone but myself. In short, I've no reason to lie and no reason to hate the Championship Gaming Series. They're an organisation who do a lot more for players than most, but that doesn't mean they're perfect and I'm going to explain why.Minor issues
1. How is Championship Gaming Series different from other leagues?
“Other gaming organizations are not true leagues; rather, they are tours or tournaments. Championship Gaming Series (CGS) is the first worldwide professional video gaming league, offering a league structure similar to that of other major sports[...].”
Wrong. There is a league structure in only one of seven regions, North America. The recently released Pan Asian schedule for 2008 (April 30th – May 3rd) actually shows a decrease in attendance for the world finals (which ironically isn't in a league structure either). There are only two teams qualifying from the Pan-Asian finals this season, instead of four like last year. Cuts in other regions aren't yet publicized, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them announced.
3. What does it mean to be a professional gamer?
“CGS athletes represent the world’s most elite video gamers. Competitors who play for CGS teams display remarkable skill, reflexes, precision and commitment to compete and win on a level unmatched by other gamers.”
Wrong. Using the World Cyber Games 2007 as a comparative benchmark, because of the games used and proximity of the competition to the CGS World Finals themselves, we can clearly see that the CGS does not in fact have the best gamers in the world.
Project Gotham Racing 3 – Only one of six CGS players managed to get past the group stages. Wesley 'Ch0mpr' Cwiklo (Chicago Chimera) eventually finishing second behind Wouter 'Handewasser' Van Someren, with You-Chen 'D2C-BURBERRYqq' Liu finishing third.
FIFA – Only two of the last thirty two were CGS players. Filipe 'KreeganBG' Stoyne (LA compLexity) advanced only as far as the last eight. The winner was Daniel 'SK.Hero' Schellhase, beating Victor 'MYM] Delfin-1' Sanchez Munoz, with Ognyan '[LnX]Slavkov' Tomov finishing third.
Dead or Alive 4 – With 5 of the last 8 being contracted CGS players, it's surprising to see that despite such dominance only Jeremy 'black_mamba' Florence (Chicago Chimera) walked away with a medal (a gold one at that). Niklas 'SkatanMilla' Lagerborg and Carl 'perfect_legend' White finishing second and third respectively.
Major issues
"The Term will commence upon mutual execution of the Agreement and extend until the earlier of (i) 16 months and (ii) the commencement of the CGS 2009 North American season as determined by CGS. The League may exercise an option to renew the Agreement for the 2009 North American Season on the same terms and conditions."
With the recently released combine and draft packet, it was made clear which direction the CGS is heading in. The first warning sign is of deliberate sensationalism and false advertising, regarding the widely accepted $30,000 wage packet. The players never received $30,000. Each player was paid $2,500 a month, for the duration of nine months, making $22,500.
There are two cases to be argued here. If a competing player decides not to sign the new contract, they only ever made $22,500, $7,500 short. In order to meet the published figure, they've to sign the new contract which introduces some rather radical changes from the previous season.
Gotfrag published an extensive overview of how the new system plays out and I advise anyone interested to check it out. It's strange though, that the lowest level wage actually remains the same ($2500 per month) as last season, but the players will still be making less overall than the advertised $30,000 (except for the star franchise player who receives $1,500 more). The CGS gives with one hand, and takes with the other.
This is quite irrelevant in its self though, the worrying reality is that the CGS is expecting to get away with paying equal or better skilled players (unless there's an exodus of talent it can't get any worse), less money. Though the idea of rewarding better skilled players is fine, it highlights the problems in the CGS system itself.
The enforced combine and limited safety net (general managers could only 'keep' five of ten players) meaning star players like Marcus “zet” Sundstrum, have to fight in the combine alongside other potential draftees in order to safely regain his position within the league. To top things off, he will only receive a maximum of $16,500 in comparison to his 'former' team mate Danny “fRoD” Montaner's $31,500, and has no guarantee of another team stealing him before LA compLexity re-draft him.
The up and coming combine will show how legitimate the role of the general manager is, how favoritism and bias (amongst other reasons) may undermine the attempt to improve the skill level within the CGS, and how through careful manipulation of rule sets and contracts, the CGS has managed to completely destroy North American Counter Strike and its heritage.
The undeniable facts are, 90% of players in the CGS will receive less money than the previous season. There are fewer teams attending the world finals and the 'league' hasn't progressed at all. Expansion and evolution? Not quite. I think even the CGS zealots will have trouble defending their league when the animals start leaving the proverbial ark.
[1] Chris 'bootman' Boutte, http://dallasvenom.thecgs.com/The_Chopping_Block_LA_Complexity
[2] Danny 'fRoD' Montaner
1. How is Championship Gaming Series different from other leagues?
“Other gaming organizations are not true leagues; rather, they are tours or tournaments. Championship Gaming Series (CGS) is the first worldwide professional video gaming league, offering a league structure similar to that of other major sports[...].”
Wrong. There is a league structure in only one of seven regions, North America. The recently released Pan Asian schedule for 2008 (April 30th – May 3rd) actually shows a decrease in attendance for the world finals (which ironically isn't in a league structure either). There are only two teams qualifying from the Pan-Asian finals this season, instead of four like last year. Cuts in other regions aren't yet publicized, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them announced.
3. What does it mean to be a professional gamer?
“CGS athletes represent the world’s most elite video gamers. Competitors who play for CGS teams display remarkable skill, reflexes, precision and commitment to compete and win on a level unmatched by other gamers.”
Wrong. Using the World Cyber Games 2007 as a comparative benchmark, because of the games used and proximity of the competition to the CGS World Finals themselves, we can clearly see that the CGS does not in fact have the best gamers in the world.
Project Gotham Racing 3 – Only one of six CGS players managed to get past the group stages. Wesley 'Ch0mpr' Cwiklo (Chicago Chimera) eventually finishing second behind Wouter 'Handewasser' Van Someren, with You-Chen 'D2C-BURBERRYqq' Liu finishing third.
"Kreegan is one of the most dominant players of his sport. Prove it? Check the standings for WCG 2007 alone. He was ranked second overall in the first season of the CGS, only to franchise player from 3D.NY's WiZaKoR, but was able to pick up that number one spot at the World Cyber Games 2007. When you have a team that didn't live up to it's potential in the first season, it is the duty of a man like Lake to keep such a star in his respective game. [1]"
FIFA – Only two of the last thirty two were CGS players. Filipe 'KreeganBG' Stoyne (LA compLexity) advanced only as far as the last eight. The winner was Daniel 'SK.Hero' Schellhase, beating Victor 'MYM] Delfin-1' Sanchez Munoz, with Ognyan '[LnX]Slavkov' Tomov finishing third.
Dead or Alive 4 – With 5 of the last 8 being contracted CGS players, it's surprising to see that despite such dominance only Jeremy 'black_mamba' Florence (Chicago Chimera) walked away with a medal (a gold one at that). Niklas 'SkatanMilla' Lagerborg and Carl 'perfect_legend' White finishing second and third respectively.
Major issues
"The Term will commence upon mutual execution of the Agreement and extend until the earlier of (i) 16 months and (ii) the commencement of the CGS 2009 North American season as determined by CGS. The League may exercise an option to renew the Agreement for the 2009 North American Season on the same terms and conditions."
With the recently released combine and draft packet, it was made clear which direction the CGS is heading in. The first warning sign is of deliberate sensationalism and false advertising, regarding the widely accepted $30,000 wage packet. The players never received $30,000. Each player was paid $2,500 a month, for the duration of nine months, making $22,500.
There are two cases to be argued here. If a competing player decides not to sign the new contract, they only ever made $22,500, $7,500 short. In order to meet the published figure, they've to sign the new contract which introduces some rather radical changes from the previous season.
"If CSS isnt in CGS, they would lose the most popular FPS game and the most popular gamers in the world. [2]"
The most dangerous aspect is the introduction of discrepancies about how players are rewarded, with new 'statuses' and variable wage levels based on which position they hold within the team - franchise, protected, and drafted. All but the franchise player will be taking significant wage cuts under the new contract due to the introduction of the new system of 'on and off-season', both of which have different pay scales, ranging from $2500/500 (5 players), $2750/750 (4 players) and $3500/1000 (1 player) per month. Gotfrag published an extensive overview of how the new system plays out and I advise anyone interested to check it out. It's strange though, that the lowest level wage actually remains the same ($2500 per month) as last season, but the players will still be making less overall than the advertised $30,000 (except for the star franchise player who receives $1,500 more). The CGS gives with one hand, and takes with the other.
This is quite irrelevant in its self though, the worrying reality is that the CGS is expecting to get away with paying equal or better skilled players (unless there's an exodus of talent it can't get any worse), less money. Though the idea of rewarding better skilled players is fine, it highlights the problems in the CGS system itself.
The enforced combine and limited safety net (general managers could only 'keep' five of ten players) meaning star players like Marcus “zet” Sundstrum, have to fight in the combine alongside other potential draftees in order to safely regain his position within the league. To top things off, he will only receive a maximum of $16,500 in comparison to his 'former' team mate Danny “fRoD” Montaner's $31,500, and has no guarantee of another team stealing him before LA compLexity re-draft him.
The up and coming combine will show how legitimate the role of the general manager is, how favoritism and bias (amongst other reasons) may undermine the attempt to improve the skill level within the CGS, and how through careful manipulation of rule sets and contracts, the CGS has managed to completely destroy North American Counter Strike and its heritage.
The undeniable facts are, 90% of players in the CGS will receive less money than the previous season. There are fewer teams attending the world finals and the 'league' hasn't progressed at all. Expansion and evolution? Not quite. I think even the CGS zealots will have trouble defending their league when the animals start leaving the proverbial ark.
[1] Chris 'bootman' Boutte, http://dallasvenom.thecgs.com/The_Chopping_Block_LA_Complexity
[2] Danny 'fRoD' Montaner
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LOL
We all know the controversy created when CGS decided to pick 1.6 instead of Source but remember that by such date everyone thought CGS would be the future, the next big league that would finally boost e-sports to the next level and where everyone would love to see their game being featured on TV all over the world. Right now, only those involved with CGS feels that way because the overall opinion is quite unique: it failed.
Not because they have picked source instead of 1.6, but their business model doesn't fit the e-sports culture and traditions. The true feeling of e-sports is about playing the game you want, the way you want, travel around the world to participate on several events, feel the trill of being crowned champion today and upset tomorrow, the ups and downs through a whole year of tournaments, new faces, new teams, new challenges, unexpected losses and well deserved wins.
The CGS campaign was always about the money players would earn and the million viewers that would watch them. Players that were beloved on 1.6 switched sides, others decided to leave their family and friends behind and cruise the Atlantic ocean, all for the money.
I'm wondering how ESWC without offering a $1,000,000 prize pot and $30,000 a month is being picked by most as their favourite e-sports competition year after year. It's about the feeling, the thrill of attending an ESWC Grand Final, the overall environment create both online and offline.
CGS doesn't match the e-sports minimum requirements.
black_mamba is not on coL, he is on Chicago Chimera
Nice to see 4K's bestest worker commenting! ;D
I dont think I actually have a problem with the content of the CGS at all, with regards to what games are being played, however the way its packaged up as some kind of "ESports answer to Extreme Dodgeball" needs some looking into.
Sure its getting there but for a lot of gamers who have some dignity, is it really the step that we want to be taking?
Marketing is always bullshit i think for that reason I wouldnt trust the statements that they put on the website nor think much of tem otherwise you can pick holes at almost every website in the world with marketing slogans on them.
Evan if you want to criticize the CGS which you are more than welcome to, criticize them for a proper reason, not this farce....
The two “minor issues” you bring up I agree are minor issues and lets face it, most of it is “PR” blurb. Most companies do this in one form or another and can realistically find a way of justifying what they have said. After all, they don’t tend to stick anything out there without having had the legal team go over it first. You and I and pretty much anyone could find holes in it, thats the beauty of PR I guess, but ultimately they are what they say they are, depending on how you look at it. To say you disagree with the blurb is fine, but to call it wrong, is not fact either. Is there another global league that runs its own city based franchise teams in esport? No. There you have your answer. Is it totally correct in the way we view esports globally? Probably not, but one thing is certain, its how you look at the league in the first place. Take it for what it is, pr speak to those who have no idea what hardcore esports are. Dont forget, CGS has responsibilities unlike any other leagues to the mainstream and casual gamers. ESWC and WCG can both market towards us the hardcore with no worry over the mainstream viewer or casual gamer, they either come or they don’t.
Using WCG in your argument is fine if you are looking at it like for like, and despite the games being used being the same in some places (DOA, FIFA and PGR), the rules used are completely different, so its hard to judge whos the best (unless one person believes one tournament is better than the other, which comes down to opinion, not fact). If we held a tournament for those playing under CGS rules and invited those at the WCG finals, the results may or may not be different. I take your point about whether they are high skilled or not, but for the most part, whilst not EVERY high skilled player is in CGS a lot are. Its not for everyone obviously and sometimes other factors come in to play such as loyalty to a team (like SK) or age issues (in the case of handewasser). If you are going for the facts, don’t forget to give the other side of the argument with equal gusto.
Major issues
You cite the reduction of contract payment as a major issue, but again lets look at it from a different angle. How many jobs have you held where you got paid, even a small amount, for not doing any work for 6 months? I have been in business in one form or another for over 15 years and I can’t remember that happening once to me or to any of the thousands of people I have worked with or for. In its simplest terms, these guys are working for 6 months or less and yet, CGS still pay them beyond the six months, all be it in a reduced capacity, which frankly I find astonishing. The players will be free to go off and earn money from other tournaments in the off season too and that has to be a welcome benefit and example of CGS listening to the players and communities. Should CGS have communicated this earlier and better? Absolutely they should.
Lets also add in that they have attempted, all be it not as sweeping as they or we would like, to compensate better players with higher base salaries. Again, the principle is sound, the execution may not be to everyone’s liking, but ultimately this is a good thing isn’t it or at least a step in the right direction?
Lets also be careful of slander too with the words “deliberate sensationalism and false advertising”, the same could be levelled with the way you lay out the column too. CGS said in year one it would give out $30,000 per annum in season one and that didn’t change until this season. Ok it could have been more specific on it being pro rata and contracts being shorter than planned, but isn’t it a good thing that a company realises when it’s made a mistake, admits it and then does something about it rather than promising the earth and then failing to deliver anything, going out of business and not paying players for years on end until it goes broke anyway? Let’s have a little credit here please and a little realism of a business who see’s and admits it got it wrong in the first place and is doing something about it. I am not aware of anything they have done illegally with any of the contracts either, so this is a moot point about something you probably dont have all the facts about.
Id also be careful about using the words “maximum” when talking about how much these guys are going to make this year, try and remember that this is a BASE salary and hardly representative of what each player will make throughout the year with earnings able to rise substantially due to winning tournaments and awards. It’s like saying BlackMamba only earnt a maximum of 30k last year, when last year he earnt over $100,000 in total.
I don’t see any evidence of how CGS has destroyed CS by this supposed careful manipulation of rule sets (they haven’t changed in 18 months) either. People still play both games and people still watch both games. Cevo this season was much more competitive this season in both formats than it was in the last year, perhaps a further analysis would show it was actually helping the north American scene stay alive in one way or another. Either this view or yours needs more evidence though.
"Is there another global league that runs its own city based franchise teams in esport? No."
...is another marketing half-truth. We both know that maybe 10, maybe 20% of the players actually live in the city they represent.
As for the WCG vs. CGS comparison, as far as I am aware, the DoA4 rules are very, very similar if not the same. And the CGS FIFA rules are pretty much the same, except they are more random because of shorter game length.
As for the half truth, nah, its the truth fully. Its a global league with city based franchises, I mentioned nothing about the players and as was explained above, just because Chelsea dont have a single player who either was born or lives in Chelsea, doesnt mean they arent a proper team in a proper league. I take your point though.
“The undeniable facts are, 90% of players in the CGS will receive less money than the previous season”.
In the cold light of figures, I can’t deny they will get less salary this year than last, however you also have to understand that last year they were going to be contracted for 12 months. This year it’s a lot less and they are getting paid even when they are not playing (in the off season), so if you look at it more positively, they are actually getting more or the same, pro rata and cheekily got a lot of money last year for no work.
As I pointed out above, if CGS are changing, it’s not because they are in trouble, it’s because they recognise they aren’t getting good value for money and I would agree with that, it made no sense to pay players for 12 months when the seasons they had proposed were so short and in hindsight I think they would do things differently. That they are now addressing that area is a good thing and shows they are interested in making it work and being around long term, which I understand wont please everyone ;)
In summary, does the CGS do everything right? No absolutely not. Does it do everything badly? No, it really doesn’t. Has it failed? No, it really hasn’t even begun yet. Does it have a place in esport? Absolutely yes, just a different part of it and finally is it the same model as WCG and ESWC? No, it really isn’t, but that doesn’t take away its legitimacy or those involved in it to try and help grow esports globally together.
Even if you don’t like it, refuse to support it, I’m cool with that, I totally understand why and it’s up to me to change your mind and respect your opinion (which I really do) and I’m totally up for a debate on the rights and wrongs, but please, let’s look at both sides and not just one and then perhaps those who believe evan and in particular SK are anti-cgs might start to believe differently.
It’s easy to bash CGS and people often do, but for a change it would be great to look at what they do well and not just the bad stuff. For example (PR speak cut and just one small example), they are the only league out there paying players, regularly, on time and frequently, yet esports faces much bigger issues and I don’t see the columns about lack of payments, leagues going under or coming up with promise after promise and not delivering, rule sets being benign and even bigger issues such as how to get esports on to TV (outside of the CGS) or cheaters out of our games, leagues abusing power or even online broadcasters failing to turn up to an event. What about some of the other issues such as a sporting governing body or the power of the G7 or even a players union.
There is so much more to do in esports to get it recognised for what it is, a passionate, competitive sport with thousands of talented players and teams who deserve more recognition than they currently get. That what side I’m on and if CGS are helping that, even microscopically, they get my support as does any other league, team, player, writer or broadcaster out there.
It's fair to question how good the 'normal' players would be using the CGS rule sets (regarding the skill difference), but then you've to wonder how far you're willing to go to make excuses. The CGS players all came from the normal eSports scene, they were born and bread on the rules which still govern how the games are played outside of the CGS.
(Are the CGS rules even good, are they the best format to showcase the skill of the players? If not why would arguing that case be honest at all, but then it's doubtful whether anyone from the CGS would explicitly say that the 'league' wasn't founded with the intention of showcasing the talent of players. Which brings into question the role of the GMs, the games chosen, the rules used etc etc - can of worms time!)
An example. I point out how bad the CGS players did in comparison to the non CGS players (2/9 medals in 3 games [PGR3, FIFA and DOA]) at the WCG. CGS employees say that is a good result, I question this citing the PR blub which I know myself means nothing, but it's used to reinforce how poor their claims are.
This brings in arrogance and rather poor arguments from the CGS, which only reinforces my (and every CGS haters) opinion. It brings in more questions like, why does the CGS use such stringent rules on age ('Oh yeah well, he would've joined the CGS if he was old enough!!!'), and why has the league not developed substantially outside of region 1 ('Did it ever occur that NA is just the best and they might expand the league in that region?').
I'm not asking for the CGS to bend over, but would it be so hard to drop the pretentiousness or righteousness of their cause, as if they're the only ones capable of developing eSports?
As for the contract thing, I'm still not convinced. Arguing that the league is paying players to do nothing is all well and good, but they're compensating for potential failure in the future by paying less overall. This would be the time to be honest (like you pointed out), and say they merely paid the S1 players too much and the new wages are more realistic.
That would be problem solved, case closed (though I don't agree with the way they're implementing it, this could be one of the area's where GM's could actually gain power by bargaining wages with players [CGS gives $200,000 to the GM and doesn't enforce players into the combine unless the GM wants to, he can for example, pay his FIFA player slighty less, on the premise he didn't play well last season and tempt one of the big name CSS stars to join his team using the wage difference]. It adds another dimension and makes it more like normal sports.
'It’s easy to bash CGS and people often do, but for a change it would be great to look at what they do well and not just the bad stuff.'
No doubt! They do do a lot of good stuff, but it's rarely advertised or pushed forward (these are my own opinions and doubtful whether the die hard eSports fan would agree with me - guess this places me somewhere between traditional eSports and the CGSs ideal), and just about every staff member gives the worst impression of the league at every feasible opportunity. Not one of them can take criticism what so ever, no matter how justified.
I'm curious though, either way, and I'm getting the urge to actually go the (UK) combine to see it for myself! Tried to keep it short, so forgive me if I've forgotten to reply to something.
One of the things you now mention is one of the things I strongly believe in too and its something I am pushing CGS to use in the future, that of giving the GM the cash to spend on the players they want and how they wish to dispurse that cash, rather than having a league related structure. I still think its a step in the right direction in terms of at least admitting that it needs to happen. In time I hope it goes the whole way, but for now, its baby steps and as frustrating as that is to see, its a start.
As for staff being negative, ive always tried to stay positive to others opinions about CGS and responded in what I believe to be a realistic manner and with no arrogance attached, apologies if it came across that way and I can certainly take any critique thrown either my way or the way of a league I do work for, be it CGS or any other.
As for the combine, im happy to personally invite you and arrange for a ticket (if that is not taken as a bribe of any kind and merely taken for what it is, a gesture of good will for you to see it for yourself).
Hehe, I'm not that bad! Would appreciate the chance, and gladly take it!
I can make my own mind up without reading an anti-cgs article or reading essays written by people affiliated with the CGS *cough redeye*
I guess fRoD should take a look at figures, CS 1.6 is still the most popular/played FPS games (compared to CSS) and the most popular gamers never played CSS, sorry ;).
guess we should start looking up to Xfire stats seeing as more Xfire users play css more than 1.6
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nice work SK seems to have gone to an all time low =)
p0s your just as biased as you claim everyone on here is, apart from your on the other side.
http://chz.diinoweb.com/files/sup/heyevan.jpg
I still don't get what you achieve, or want to achieve when you read and comment in my stuff. Your initial post was about the community, and not about the content itself (this is only the second piece of CGS related content in close to half a year and as I pointed out I don't play either CS). Then you validate your opinion with 'I rest my case.', ignoring the fact it has nothing to do with the content itself, or the points raised (Notice how I didn't mention CS or game choice, once in the column?). You're either very bitter or very bored, most of the time.