PGL Regional Minor Championship Europe - ELEAGUE Major 2017European teams protest Minor invites
Representatives of 11 European teams have sent a letter to PGL, protesting against invites for PGL Regional Minor Championship Europe, for which fnatic, Heroic, HellRaisers and Space Soldiers have been directly invited.
On Monday PGL revealed four out of eight teams at PGL Regional Minor Championship Europe had been determined via direct invites.
fnatic and Heroic received the first two invitations, while HellRaisers and Space Soldiers followed in the next announcement. The other half of the teams will come from two online open qualifiers, running from October 18-21.
Earlier today a letter was sent to PGL, who are in charge of the European Minor prior to ELEAGUE's Major, protesting against the invites and the qualifying process.
"A core value when it comes to CS:GO Majors and qualifiers is that all teams should have an equal chance. There have never in the history of CS:GO Minor events been any direct invitations. Remember that the challenger teams already have a long way to go to get to the Major, starting from online qualifications, followed by the Minor events and finishing with the main Major qualifier. Inviting four teams to an eight team Minor, and forcing all the other teams to compete against one another does not seem fair.
"There is no definitive and agreed to CS:GO team ranking system, and as such there should not be any direct invitations for Minor events. Alternatively, if e.g. the HLTV.org ranking were to be used, it should be made clear to all teams, so they would know of a way to make their qualification route for the Major easier in advance. All teams should qualify on the same conditions. A closed online qualifier with seeded teams based on actual team ranking could be an agreed solution, but that is far away from the current system we perceive as unfair."
The letter calls on the organizers to change the qualifying format to a two-step process, including an open and a closed part (used by numerous organizers, e.g. DreamHack), and remove all direct invites for the event.
It also touches on the issue of separate Minor Championships for Europe and CIS, as the teams hope to dicuss and give feedback on the next Major cycle's qualifying process.
"At first, in the next 48 hours, we expect Valve and PGL to change the 'direct invitations' to 'closed qualifer invitations' for directly invited teams fnatic, Heroic, HellRaisers and Space Soldiers. Two online qualifiers should allow through four teams each, instead of two, to determine the eight teams at the Minor.
"We also hope that the next Minor qualifier will be announced at least a month in advance, and that combined qualifiers for Europe and CIS would be at least discussed prior to the next Major. We hope to get feedback and discuss these points together to make a good system even better."
The full version of the letter can be found here.
Representatives of a total of 11 teams (all European teams within the top 50 of our ranking affected by the decision) have signed the letter, including Epsilon, Kinguin and ENCE, among others. The full list of teams can be seen below:
ALTERNATE aTTaX
Bpro
Crowns
ENCE
Guerilla Method
Rogue
Kinguin
Virtus.pro have also expressed their support, as their coach Jakub "kuben" Gurczynski can be seen listed under the document as well.
Contacted by the teams with the aforementioned letter, PGL began dicussing the issues and aim to respond to the protest on Friday.
Jakub 'kuben' Gurczynski
Age:
30
Team:
No team
Rating 1.0:
0.95
Maps played:
168
KPR:
0.62
DPR:
0.63
APR:
0.16
Kirill 'ANGE1' Karasiow
Martin 'STYKO' Styk
Bence 'DeadFox' Böröcz
Mike 'mikeS' Tuns
BO3s would take forever, especially in open qualifiers where you have 4-6 teams you have to face. I think Double Elim BO1 would be more realistic. That or the qualifier would have to take place over 2 weekends.
idk what they are talking about that this never happened before, maybe in EU, but in NA there were invites to the Columbus and Cologne Minors.
PS: After doing a bit of further research there were invites given in the CIS Columbus and Cologne Minors as well.
Personally I think that any team that made it into the Major qualifier in the previous major should get a direct invite to the minor. Just like how the bottom 8 teams of the major get a direct invite to the major qualifier. If that were to happen Hellraisers would be the only team to get a direct invite.
It isn't as simple as that, especially if they are going to be going through ~5 BO1s then the closed qualifier to get in. Any team could easily pull off an upset and take them out in a BO1 especially when they are going to be going against 5 teams that they know next to nothing about (however their opponents sure know a lot about them). Also there is the issue that Fnatic and Heroic or whoever could face each other in the qualifier and knock each other out. It isn't like you would be giving them a free ride anyway, they would still have to get top 2 in the minor then top 8 (or maybe 9 with the whole Astralis issue) in the major qualifier.
win-advance
lose-go home
It is as simple as that.
I know that a top team missing a tournament is seems like such a tragedy but that is the nature of sport, sometimes underdogs win. Plus underdog stories are the best. That being said I am in favor of double elim or bo3.
Also if you look at the seeding, top teams don't end up playing until deep in the tourney.
Yeah I can understand that. I certainly don't like the idea of them just picking who gets in (at least for the minor, not so much against it for the closed qualifier for some of the reasons I stated previously) however I personally like the idea of basically using the system that the major uses where you automatically get into 1 step below wherever you got in the last Major (aka top 8 automatically get into the Major, the bottom 8 automatically get into the qualifier). I think that system should continue down into the Minor so teams that got into the Major qualifier but failed to qualify would get invited into the Minor and all the teams that got into the Minor but failed to come in the top 2 should automatically be invited into the closed qualifier.
This way you get rewarded for your result in the past major by not having to go through as many steps as unproven teams (but you still have to go through some). Legends teams get even greater benefits as they don't have to go through any of the qualifiers, these teams are only skipping 1 or 2 steps in the process. And maybe I am wrong, but I don't see any complaints about the legends status and that a team like Godsent, Gambit, Flipsid3, or CLG (for Cologne) can instantly get in to a major while arguably better teams like Cloud 9, Dignitas, NIP, and G2 have to qualify to get in.
It's bo1 qualifier upset can happen.
LG before was cobsidered BO1 kings and they could beat fnatic in a BO1 but in BO3 they have no chance
I agree. There are many other tournaments that already successful teams can/are being invited directly and that's fine, but when it comes to the Major it should be pure qualification procedure; the team that played the best should qualify.
This is really silly. I mean, sure, in the purest sense of the word, holding all teams to the same standard sounds fairer, but in online qualifiers based on bo1, teams that definitely deserve to go through based on other events not qualifying is kinda unfair honestly.
I'd much rather have invites and a slightly unfair system on principle than fnatic getting eliminated by Team WeLikeToRageHack420 in an online bo1. Is it really fairer to act like the only thing that exists in the scene is majors?
It makes MORE sense to base teams off actual past results and LAN than how they fare in the online bo1 hackfest that is open qualifiers.
Sure, there needs to be a system to get new teams in there. And online qualifiers do that. But the end goal for these things is to get the most skilled teams possible for the tournament.
I definitely remember times where teams that definitely should've made it to things like this didn't. Off the top of my head I only remember echo fox last NA minor, but I am sure there are plenty more. If this is true that top teams always make it anyway, why would you screw over teams that get put on their side of the bracket? Wouldn't it be fairer for the teams that will actually be contesting for these spots to face each other?
no
Nice
omg
xd
I like how your simple thought process constantly leads you towards their 'tier'. it shows just how much of an ignorant fuck you are, not realizing these minors are the chance for smaller teams to outshine the competition.
Having 4 out of the 8 spots given away simply because they're those teams, is the same thought process you're using to disqualify the other teams as 'tier hurrdurr'. If they're as good as they say they are, they should breeze past this minor, now they're being coddled past the minor.
Disgraceful, really.
Well, how is the truth disgraceful? Neither team on the list havent achived any big tournament success, tier 3 is pretty fitting.
Surely its good for newer teams to start somewhere, but in the end PGL wants to show the best possible CS and i can understand why they choosed to invite teams that atleast have some better success at bigger tournaments.
<UK
<Cs scene
Pick one
xd
+1, this is ridiculous
+1
lol
With their strong roster not this shitty one.
Interresting. And expected, ofc.
well all other teams are trash thats why
HUNDEN
ez4ence :>
and kuben
some of them have already been in a major, so why not bother?
ence kinguin and penta
and who gives a fuck if they are waste of spots, they got there and deserved to get there.
Tier 3 teams crying
seems fair
Nicolai Petersen, Tricked-esport
oh shit he is angry
Nice one
NOOBS
Not a fangay or something but ence without allu is not better than space soldiers. and epsilon is not better either. dunno much about kinguin tho, i mean i know they are a good team but im not watching their games. And iGame? like seriously? u gotta be kidding with that shit
Yep. Teams are not the ones that getting the invites, its actually organizations. I have no idea how they invited Space Soldiers. I remember Space Soldiers beat Dignitas 2-0 in a Dreamhack qualifier and then failed to qualify for the main event. And after the qualifiers Dignitas got invited to the main event xD
I guess SS got invited only because Turkey became 'World Champion' as a CSGO nation EleGiggle
tier 3 is rioting LMAO hahaha
These 11 teams should shut the fuck up :)
+1
Thats correct, even though I rather not see any of those teams in the major.
lol @ all the "these teams are bad anyway XD" comments
really shows how shitty this community is
+1
People please read the fucking article. Its not about whos good and whos bad. The thing is that every1 should have an equal chance to get to the minors from where you get the majors. If these teams are so good that they should be invited, they could just play against these "shit" teams and beat them fair and square. This is a shit system and its good the smaller teams are standing up for themselves. All these kids commenting about tier 4 teams crying, piss off.
why u cry if u get paid for attention given to u by esl pro league quals and other leagues where you holding the bottom?
yea but inviting HR and SS is BS
Fully agreeing with the article. The system that dreamhacks work with(invites to a closed qualifier in which invited teams play the best teams from open qualifiers) seems the most fair at the moment. Also I still cannot believe how would these idiots invite HR and SS and skip Kinguin and Epsilon X-D.
ALTERNATE aTTaX-up and down team.
Bpro-somewhat good team,quite unknown.
Crowns-1 good showing as far as I remember?
ENCE-unprooven talent,but they did beat TYLOO.
Epsilon-fair enough,good team.
Guerilla Method-terrible showing at wesg,1 capable player.
iGame.com-2weak to cry about invites
PENTA-LMAO MATE
Rogue-team with potential,2 new players=they need to proove theirselfs.
Kinguin-fair enough.
Tricked-shit team,only 2 capable players.
SS-consistant team with good showing-deserve.
HellR-they improved recently,SOMEHOW
HeR-quite good team,they deserve invite.
Fnatic-"Terrible" showing at first time(for fnatic)unprooven talent from their current 5 core team,questionable if they deserve invite or not,but from the others team in that union they surely do deserve.
Overall,fucking bullshit protest,I see bunch of teams which are not even playing good enough to get any invite for any event,and peaks of good teams.
Well,you can make your summary,but look,attax is team which at one day can beat someone like SK and other day lose to MVP project.Crowns have total of 8 maps,seems great.Ence got 2 new members in lineup,you dont know anything about them,Epsilon is fine,Guerilla only have nexa which is playing fine,others are shit.igame is ex idk what=ex rtic,not some top tier team. penta is shit team,just look at their proleague run.rouge added victor and bubble maybe two days ago? kinguin is good team,tricked got niko and jugi which are playing fine,other 3 are inconsistant bots.
You do realize that all teams you named here with your explanation for each can beat each other? That is the point of qualifications, to see who is better and who deserves to be in event.
If one Attax or Penta can fall to someone like iGame or Crowns, then they do not deserve spot. That's it. Simple as that.
They simply do not agree that Minor event as such(chance for MINOR teams to show themselves and have a shot at Major) should not prioritize ANYONE. Everyone good enough will qualify anyway. And if some FAMOUS name fails, it's fail. There is no need and there should not be any need to more push "famous" teams into events which are originally designed to help MINOR teams to progress as organizations, teams and players.
With the full support of currently the best european team : Virtus pro
SHOT FIRED
HLTV kids makes fun of this ranking and apparently navi is top 1 according to hltv logic
69nd
really? spaces better than both attax Kinguin. i remember ss defeated dignitas at semifinal and dreamhack invited dignitas instead of ss
I agree 100%
Lmao a bunch Tier Trash teams are revolting.
for those that dont know PGL is run by Silviu, a fat, annoying, overassertive, non-democratic person who likes to abuse his power every chance he gets.
many years ago while playing in PGL, they had these rules that you were not allowed to say anything in game, and if you did you would be issued a warning.
of course everyone was saying "n1", "hf gl", "ns", ":)".
but the difference came when teams (or players) that Silviu didn't like were using "say" in game, they would always get warnings, and get threatened.
so just so you know PGL = Silviu (owner) = communist = corruption
thow PGL did alot for the e-sports community, the dark story doesnt end here.
the biggest upset was the monopoly they put on esports in our country.
there were other organizations who tried to start similar CS leagues but guess what:
PGL stated that any team that would sign-up to play in other (Romanian) CS leagues would automatically be BANNED FROM PGL.
so basically as a team your were only allowed to play PGL or you were out.
does this ring a bell stupido?
Dear deni! You are full of shit, Silviu made something awesome with the cs 1.6 in Romania and seems like slowly he is doing something nice with csgo also. You are just a frustrated little shit. If PGL doesn't want you to play in other leagues then is fine by me,those are internal rules of PGL , not Romanias Esport rules. If you didn't like the rules from the get go, you shouldn't sing up for PGL in the first place. I myself played in PGL for some seasons back in 1.6 and the rules were on point! No say, no bm, taunts and stuff like that, I even played in 2 PGL organized lans and it was peacefull, no one was allowed to taunt, shit talk , etc. , a very good enviroment to play a game. If you are one of those guys who talks shit on the internet , yea, I understand why you didn't like Silviu , PGL and all the rules and restrictions. Bye kiddo.
"If PGL doesn't want you to play in other leagues then is fine by me"
reflect on that, will you?!
do you have a backbone?
does PGL tell you what to eat and what not?
"those are internal rules of PGL , not Romanias Esport rules."
There was no other ROMANIAN ESPORTS ORG because PGL put monopoly on it with STUPID BAN.
is that romani language?
No surprise that no "Big" Team signed that letter ... getting free spots in Tourneys ezPz im looking at you Godsent
Both times CIS Minor had 4 invites (of 8 teams). Teams were invited considering their rankings and results. And no one ever cried.
Considering late info about dates (maybe because of late agreements between orgs) its harder to make online + closed quals.
IMO invites are fair. Fnatic, Heroic and HR are higher in rankings. SS not far too and havent changed roster unlike others.
Also complaining about giving CIS less slots or comparing scenes is stupid. Because CS needs to be global and regions should be supported.
Thats why CIS and ASIA should have same slots, so its scenes will grow faster. And world gonna see more international teams which is way more interesting.
So stop crying, start improving.
+1 And if I remember corectly even american minor had invites before. About CIS minor i have to say i wasnt big fan of it when the first 4 minors were announced, but at the last major CIS teams showed their strenghts and potential by qualifying to playoffs and getting legend status. I fully agree with everything you stated there.
Edit: I forgot to mention that they are saying It's unfair etc, but if they got that invitation, they would accept it and act like It's totally fair.
Ok, HUNDEN signed it. Shit is real.
Yes it would be great to see fnatic, heroic, space soldiers, envyus getting eliminated by a random hacker team right?
11 'Butthurt' teams are crying about invites.Where were you when SS fucked by DreamHack Community?A bunch of idiot supporting this protest.Its just funny.
3 cis team is legends LOL , stfu please and cry more
no they are not
I liked how champions league and europa league worked in football. Not sure if it is still the same.
Teams are bound to countries, countries have slot limits, from national qualifiers teams proceed to global major qualifiers, losers can still compete in minors which should be legit tournaments by themselves.
No invites at all, no legends etc, bo1 or bo3 depending on number of teams to make realistic schedule.
I feel those 11 but at the same time unlikely any of them get to major with whatever the system is
ok the fnatic situation is kinda weird but why invite Hellraiser, Space Soldiers AND FUCKING HEROIC???
all of them are just as good as Epsilon, Kinguin, ENCE, and ATN
playing through a qualifier does require consistency, but i guess thats too much to ask from fnatic and co.?
HR can't play at the same time Epicenter and minor qualifier
I definitely agree here with the teams. It's a hard fight to even get to the minor for teams of less calibre and exposure, and the fact that half the slots were to be taken by direct invites seemed completely unfair. In a sense, the teams of less experience are essentially being pushed aside to make way for teams with big names and organisations.
yeah down with the bureaucracy
Oh boy!
shots fired! :D
youtube.com/watch?v=RLuVVIztVXA
Maybe Asia teams should also argue the spots distribution for minor :D
ENCE and iGame will play against each other in the finals
haters gonna hate
