Competitive CS – Evolution or Devolution?

Published on ESEA on the 10th of June 2004.

Opening paragraphs:

Before we can fully analyse the key topic outlined in the title it’s time for a history lesson to get us all up to speed.

Competitive CS effectively started evolving at a noticable pace with the CPL events on either side of the Atlantic. The prize money and structure of such LAN tournaments meant teams began to take things more seriously and winning become more prominent than fun as far as competitive playing of the game was concerned.

In Europe it was events like CPL Cologne won by Clan Z from finland and Babbages won by e9 which were starting to shape this game into what some refer to today as a ‘sport’. There were tournaments before but these official tournaments with prize money were the real catalysts for change in the community and the way the game itself was played. Teams scrambled to form more powerful player alliances and refocus their energies on winning in a manner we still see mirrored today when an element leaves one team to join another he hopes can be successful.

Link: ESEA