CS:GO Community Is Divided Over BLAST's Decision To Delay Fall Finals
It's not been a straight forward year from the perspective of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) fanatics. The esports scene has been littered with ridicule, investigations, and bans on top of a disjointed season and some huge transfers. Notoriously known for being one of the steadiest esports ever made, CS:GO has spiralled into chaos in 2020, with the introduction of VALORANT also piercing a thorn into its side.
To round the year off, it seems like the players and event organisers have decided to stick with the incoherent theme that has been present, by bumping heads again in anticipation of the BLAST Fall Finals.
The basis of the disagreement stems from BLAST requiring all players to record their screens have access to voice communications that can be broadcast live. Ahead of the event, the players took a stand against the organisers and refused to allow them access to comms and recordings without a formal agreement on how the content is used. With this clash delaying the opening fixture between Mousesports and Team Vitality, fans and players have taken to social media to throw their penny into the ring.
CS:GO pundit and caster, Janko Paunovic, headed to Twitter in defence of voice comms and screen recordings being accessible to BLAST, but aired on the side of caution by reiterating that the teams' protection needs to reinforced.
Former Vice President of League Event Operations at Activision Blizzard, Adam Apicella, weighed in by stating that "Tournament Organisers should not be recording comms without player permission".
Three-time Call of Duty World Champion, James "Eubanks" Clayster also pitched in on the conversation, showcasing a clip of the aforementioned Janko Paunovic during his time coaching FaZe, with Clayster adding "I'd be furious if something this specific was broadcast live".
This hoo-ha has left the community in turmoil once again, in a year where competitive integrity has been slashed by numerous scandals. With many backing the broadcasting and recording of comms, others have sided with the players and teams and are calling out the likes of BLAST to enter negotiations with the Counter-Strike Professional Players’ Association to come to a fair even ground that will ensure that teams' specific tactics are kept safe whilst upkeeping rectitude.
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Image via BLAST | DreamHack
