GEXCon to strengthen security prior to Cougar CS:GO Open
GEXCon, a convention that is set to be held in Washington D.C., has announced over Twitter that the organizer will be working with their security firm and the Dulles Expo Center in order to ensure the safety at the convention.
The announcement comes just a few hours after a mass shooting incident took place in Jacksonville, Florida, where a gunman opened fire on a Madden NFL 19 tournament, killing three and injuring eleven other people.
Following the tragedy, discussion over social media prompted, questioning whether the current security measures put in place by tournament organizers are enough to protect the players and audience members at tournaments. GEXCon are one of the first event organizers who have come out publicly declaring their efforts to bolster security for their future events.
GEXCon will begin on August 29th and run through to September 2nd. The convention will host the Cougar CS:GO Open, which will be organized by N3rd Street Gamers, with a $10,000 prize pool and up to 32 teams. Along with a chunk of the prize money, the winning team will receive a spot at the NSG Eastern Championship Finals, as well as travel support and a high seed to the event.
The Cougar CS:GO Open will feature a few MDL teams, such as Vision, AZIO, and Excelerate. So far, at least 21 teams are confirmed for the tournament. The groups are expected to be released tomorrow.
GEXCon previously featured CS:GO at their GEX DC Area Esports CS:GO Showcase back in early July. Thomas "tconnors" Connors' lol yeah swept through the tournament, winning the event and going undefeated.
Editor's note: Though today's tragedy directly impacted the Madden community, it will certainly come to have ramifications for the entirety of esports. We at Dust2 wish to offer our sincere condolences to everyone who was impacted by the attack today, especially those who tragically lost their lives, and their families.
Additionally, I was incredibly relieved to learn, after several hours of fearing the worst, that Steve "sasquatcH" Csikos, was safe after the shooting. Steve is a pillar of the North American CS community, but more importantly, my friend. It is surreal to think that three weeks ago the two of us were in a very similar setting to where today's tragedy transpired, at Fragadelphia 12. - Joe
