SirScoots to head new player union
Per a report by Liz Mullen of Sports Business Journal, a player union for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players, called the Counter-Strike Professional Players Association, is being created, with 70 players having already signed membership letters with the group.
Headed by Scott "SirScoots" Smith, the association has been collecting members over the months, but is not going the route of a formal union under United States law. SirScoots cited the fact that CS is mostly European, and thus are not collecting "authorization cards", but "membership letters." The group has also already begun speaking with tournament organizers about player needs and conditions.
The CSPPA has its roots in the controversy surrounding the Professional eSports Association (PEA) early last year. Many players would have been forced by their teams to forfeit participation in the ESL Pro League in order to participate in PEA's own league. With the help of SirScoots and outrage in the community, this did not come to pass.