ESEA to accept applications for Main and Intermediate
ESEA has announced that they will now accept applications for their Main and Intermediate divisions. The post states that teams will have an option to apply for the move up during the ESEA League Off-season, which is currently in affect.
To apply, you must submit a full team roster of five players alongside your past achievements in previous tournaments. Teams deemed worthy will be moved up before the start of the season and are required to maintain four out of the five players used to apply for the first four games of the season. Failure to maintain the required original players will result in their team being marked "DEAD" and all future matches being forfeited; league fees will not be refunded.
ESEA's rationale for the rule implementation is to maintain the competitive environment and balance in all the divisions. Many rosters from around the world have moved to North America (such as the Tempo Storm rosters), and despite having excellent results back in their previous divisons, those teams were forced to play out a season of Open in order to return to the higher echelons of Counter-Strike. Now those teams have the ability to apply for Main, which will allow them to return to a similar level of play almost immediately.
Although not stated as a motivation for the change by ESEA, it may also help mend the relationship between ESEA and players under the age of 16, who were recently barred from playing in the Mountain Dew League. Those players will now, if desired, be able to join forces and battle it out in Main, where they can face opposition with a relatively close skill level, instead of having to create an Open team and starting over.
Although they did not go in depth, ESEA mentioned that they are developing a public formula that will contain clear points that enable a team to be eligible for each division. However, for this season they will evauluate applications on a case by case basis.
