Concerns over the long-term growth of the Professional Esports Association (PEA) drove players on six PEA teams to vote unanimously to compete in the ESL Pro League (EPL) over the PEA's proposed league, player representative Scott "SirScoots" Smith said in a statement Thursday evening.

According to SirScoots, the Counter-Strike players of Cloud9, Counter Logic Gaming, Immortals, NRG Esports, Team Liquid and TeamSoloMid were also concerned with staying connected to their communities and the closed nature of the proposed league.

The players were originally given the decision to play in either league on Dec. 23, following publication of an open letter by players protesting the PEA's alleged plan to boycott the upcoming EPL season.

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In a series of tweets earlier today, SirScoots said that one of the reasons why players voted to compete in EPL instead of PEA was because EPL's higher prize pools would be better for the Counter-Strike scene, though the players would likely make more money if they chose PEA due to less challenging competition. Expanding on that point in the letter, SirScoots said that players felt that going with PEA would not be conducive to their ability to connect with fans and the Counter-Strike community at large.

"As a professional gamer, so much of your livelihood depends on how you connect with your community," SirScoots said. "This happens in a variety of ways, including: social media, live streaming and other content, and of course playing in top-tier competitions with many fans watching. The players mostly felt that going with the PEA’s proposal would be a step in the wrong direction in these regards."

In addition, players were concerned about the PEA's desire to implement a closed league for CS:GO. According to SirScoots, the PEA believed that the esports industry would be controlled by game developers and team owners, with no room for third-party tournaments. Many players were uncomfortable with the closed system implemented by the PEA, which was a factor in their decision to choose the EPL.

"The PEA’s structure as it was proposed to the players would give its member teams an unprecedented amount of power and market control," SirScoots said.

"EPL’s structure as it was presented is more open, balanced, and in line with the philosophy that esports should be treated as its own industry and not forced into traditional sports models. Ultimately, this was a major factor in the players choosing EPL. Don’t get me wrong: EPL is not perfect (and certainly neither is WESA), but at this point it was the far less concerning of the two options."

While SirScoots acknowledged that the players have made a "clear choice," he also thanked the PEA for everything they've done for the industry and hoped that this vote would allow players and teams to work together better than they did before.

"Right now, we should be focusing on how players, teams, and leagues can work together more closely at the negotiating table, and not on blurring the line between team owner and league operator," SirScoots said. "In order for all of that to happen, though, the players must first come together on their own. Hopefully, their decision here is a big step in that direction."

You can read the full letter on Medium.

Preston Dozsa is a news editor for theScore esports whose journalism idol is Dino Ghiranze. You can follow him on Twitter.