ESL VP Responds to Player Criticism Over Tournament Break

ESL Vice President Ulrich Schulze responded to the indignation of some esports players regarding open qualifiers for RMR, which were placed the next day after the end of the tournament break immediately.

After the summer break, there are seven weeks of tournaments in a row - two weeks of BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2022 (12 teams, lots do not participate in open qualifiers) and five weeks of ESL Pro League Season 16 (24 teams, many of which play open qualifiers). We've compiled a schedule of open qualifiers for the ESL Pro League weeks where North American teams will not play.

The second half of the year is always incredibly busy, and that's one reason we favored an earlier hiatus in early 2023. But, unfortunately, this once again shows that every coin has two sides and win-win solutions are rare. A break in the pro scene is a tournament break. No championships are held during the break, but outside of these dates, they are held. Previously, there were various options, one of which was to hold "less important" online matches and qualifications in the first weeks after the end of the pause. This approach is difficult to navigate. Who will determine "importance"? The only practical solution is to treat the break exactly as a tournament break, and the players themselves should choose what they will do during the absence of events. Is it possible to have a discussion on the topic of lengthening the pause? Of course, but this also has its drawbacks.

Ulrich Schulze

The dates of the open qualifiers were announced today, July 23rd. Qualifiers will be held in seven regions of the world, and in Europe, they will start on August 15th.

Source: Twitter