Historically, professional CS:GO tournaments have been a testament to the spirit of competition, strategy, and dedication. The competitive scene thrived on open qualifiers, allowing aspiring teams to prove their mettle and secure a spot among the elite. However, all of that changed in recent years and corporations started to sign separate agreements with CS:GO teams. Fortunately, Valve decided to put an end to it. 

A Paradigm Shift: Tournament Structure Reimagined

Valve Corporation, the visionary force behind CS:GO, has boldly reset the rules that have governed pro tournaments for years. A paradigm shift of this magnitude is akin to a tectonic plate movement within the esports realm. 

Tournament organizers will no longer have the power to conduct business relationships with teams. Instead, they will have to rely solely on open qualifiers and team ranings  to determine participants.

Over the past few years, we’ve seen professional Counter-Strike drift away from that ideal. The ecosystem has become gradually less open, with access to the highest levels of competition increasingly gated by business relationships, Valve wrote

They believe that Counter-Strike should be a fair sport. So, they’re going to make some new rules for big competitions. They’re still working out the exact details, but here are the main ideas:

  • People who organize tournaments can’t have special deals or conflicts of interest with the teams in the tournaments.
  • Teams will get invited to tournaments based on how well they’ve done in a ranking system or by winning in open competitions.
  • If teams get prizes or money for playing, everyone will know how much, and the rules for giving out prizes will be fair and open for everyone to check.

This change means that the landscape of professional CS:GO tournaments will transform into an ecosystem where exclusivity meets talent. Low tier teams, if talented enough, will have a chance to compete in big competitions even without a big organization to support them.

The Louvre Agreement

The “Louvre Agreement” of the ESL Pro League is an arrangement that  grants a specific set of top-tier teams the opportunity for continuous participation in the Pro League. 

These teams partake in the league’s earnings and secure permanent slots for each season. The only circumstance under which they can lose this slot is by consistently finishing last in their group during three out of four seasons. In such cases, their place in the slot undergoes evaluation. So, if the team is in good standings with ESL, they can still continue competing. In other words, it’s almost impossible for a team to lose a spot in ESL Pro League. 

This new rule will definitely change this. However, these adjustments won’t come into play right away. Valve explained that due to existing prolonged agreements between tournaments and professional teams, the updated regulations won’t be implemented until 2025. Interestingly, this coincides with the expiration date of the current ESL Pro League’s Louvre Agreement.

The Future of CS:GO Scene

This new rule is going to change the way professional CS:GO competitions work. It will make things fairer and more open. The changes mean that teams will have a better chance to show how good they are based on their skills and how well they play, not just because of who they’re connected to.

As the world of esports grows and changes, everyone involved will feel the effects of this change. Teams that used to have special agreements will now get to prove how good they are in a fair competition. This is like making sure everyone plays on the same level field.

Even though we don’t know all the exact details yet, Valve wants things to be clear and fair. The new rules they’re thinking about will stop organizers from having too much control and will make sure everyone knows how prizes are given out. This is all about keeping the game fair and competitive.

Looking ahead to 2025, when these changes will happen, it’s also the time when the current special agreement for the ESL Pro League will end. This is a big moment that doesn’t just start a new part of the story, but it also shows that CS:GO competitions are getting a fresh beginning. Teams, organizers, and fans will get to see the game change to be more about skill and fairness.

In simple words, this new rule is like a big shift that makes things fairer for CS:GO players. It also makes sure that everyone knows the rules and that the game stays competitive. In a few years, when these changes start, it’s also when a special agreement for one league ends, showing that things are starting fresh and becoming more about how good teams are.