Pros on ECL changes: "straight garbage"
This morning, ESL announced several changes to the ESL Challenger League format. Some of the changes include a reduction in prizepool for North America, changes to relegation, and a move from BO3 to BO2s, which has drawn the ire of much of the community. Dust2.us broke down the full changes this afternoon.
Some of the highlights of the changes include reducing the prizepool from $100,000 per season to $80,000, which translates to a 20% cut, the only region to face a reduction of any kind. Additionally, ESL have introduced a new points system to determine the teams that will play in relegation, since ESEA Advanced and ESL Challenger League will run a separate number of seasons. However, teams will have a greater chance in qualifying for Relegation should they make playoffs in the first of two seasons, due to a misadjusted points allocation.
In response to those changes, Evil Geniuses Gold coach Joseph "Muenster" Lima called the changes "straight garbage" and that "There is no reason to value each map over an entire series other than less broadcast time for lower cost."
Echoing the coach's statement was Bobby "stamina" Eitrem who called these decisions "without a doubt some of the worst changes I've ever seen to ECL". The IGL has a long history at the top level in North America and having been through several divisions in his time.
Other players like Party Astronaut's Connor "chop" Sullivan said the move to Bo2s was "awful". The change is reminiscent of when ESL Pro League used the Bo2 format in the early days of the online league. Considering the switch to Counter-Strike 2 and the new MR12 round limit, the change to Bo2s is something that many did not expect.
Former Team 7AM IGL Max "SolGoat" Wallace said that the changes were "really disappointing" while Evil Geniuses CSGO head coach Tom "Axed" Ryan was very succinct in his feedback; "strongly disagree".
It remains to be seen how the broader community will react with the news happening just today, as many will slowly start to realize the full impact when ESL Challenger League Season 47 begins later this February.
