I am an old rat in this game, I’ve been around for more than 15 years, so I have seen my fair share of what goes on in professional CS, and for the life of me, I cannot figure out why we would need WESA?



WESAs vision states that they want to support and amplify sustainable growth in esports, and to share that growth with the teams, the leagues and the players. This all sounds very good, but have we not had sustainable growth the past 3 years of CS:GO? Have things not improved for everyone? Why now are we so sure we need anyone to tamper with this? Is it not firmly embedded in the core of professional CS that we do not need anyone? That anyone who has tried to mingle before, have only ruined things? What good has corporate money from people who did not understand the game ever done? Why can our growth not continue as it has?



CS:GO is growing amazingly, and it is growing on a real foundation this time, as opposed to the glory days of 1.6, where the prize money were plenty, but ultimately non-existing. This time the money is there, the economy is working, money is flowing from the fans to the players, teams and organizations, and we are all living in a happy world where there is growth and money enough to go around.



The growth we are having is being driven on all fronts by heavy competition, competition that is fueled by a very low barrier of entry. Anyone can do something in esports, anyone can start a league, and work their way up. Anyone can start a team, get some good players, and join the big leagues. Anyone can play hard and go pro. Is it hard as hell? Yes. Does it happen all the time? No. Does this mean that locking one organizer and the teams that have made it now into power positions, and having them dictate who is allowed in the exclusive club in the future is the best way forward? Well it certainly has not been so far, so why would it all of a sudden be?



WESA would also have us all believe that they can span everyone, leagues, players and teams. Yet somehow we got one league, that has 50% of the power, and only 8 teams with the remaining power, and a vague promise of power for the players? How is that spanning everyone? Why is the power not split three ways between the three parties, if we were so transparent and encompassing? Why is ESL entitled to 50%? Why is ESL entitled to dictating how events should be run in the future, except from actually competing against the other organizers? Why is ESL even spending time and money on WESA? Are we to believe it is simply altruism and love of the game? Because we missed that when 1.6 went through a rough patch, but maybe you are making amends?



Why are parallels, by WESA themselves, being drawn to the likes of FIFA and NFL? Are we really trying to pretend that an organization like FIFA is doing anything good for the world of football? Between somehow having the most corrupt people in the world in their leadership and being a leech on the revenue football generates, it is tough to see. Why can we not do without? What do we need these organizations for? We have no tv rights to sell, we are broadcasting ourselves. We are producing ourselves. We make our own teams. We train our own players. We make our own luck.



Valve - help us. This is your game, and you have wisely let us shape it ourselves, you have sat passively and let us build it. You gave us the tools and opportunity, and we took them. Leaving CS to its own devices, in essence only providing infrastructure is in my mind a masterpiece. I know you are often criticized for this, but I firmly believe that if you let people earn what they get, they will cherish it more, and I hope this is partly your thinking too. However, sometimes we are immature, sometimes we take the wrong steps, and I firmly think WESA is a wrong step, and that is where you guys come in. You can stop this, from day to day, let the community know that you own this game, you are lending it to us, and as long as we are responsible, you will keep doing so, but when we step out of line, you decide what is best. So stop WESA, before they take this game away from not only you, but also us who love it.



And WESA, I hope I am in the wrong, I hope I am just being stubborn and too old for change. I hope I am just cynical from past experiences, and that everything is different this time. So please, prove me wrong.