ESL drops Counter-Strike 1.6 as a main title of the Intel Extreme Masters. Only selected events will have CS 1.6 tournaments next season.
The ESL has announced the concurrent main title of the Intel Extreme Masters, Counter-Strike 1.6 will be dropped after six seasons. For the next season, there will only be CS 1.6 tournaments at selected events. These will most likely only be in Europe. In America and Asia, CS 1.6 has lost its relevance, therefore it's not suitable to hold a world championship anymore.
No information has been given as of yet about the other main titles of IEM. Last season, Starcraft 2 and League of Legends completed the world championship. The two options which are most likely are either reducing the amount of games to just two, as it has been in some previous seasons already, or picking up Counter-Strike: Global Offensive as a main title.
"Counter-Strike 1.6 will be taken off the main titles list for the upcoming 2012-2013 Intel Extreme Masters season.
Over the six seasons in the Intel Extreme Masters, Counter-Strike 1.6 brought a lot of fantastic moments to our events and its community contributed enormously towards its global growth. We hope we have delivered a great deal of entertainment and emotions in return.
For a truly global project like ours, with events on four different continents and many different countries, we require game titles with professional players and teams from all corners of the world. In the recent years of Counter-Strike 1.6, the game has retained its status of a top professional game in Europe but declined in other parts of the world. This was evident at our events outside of Europe.
With this as the basis, we have decided to take Counter-Strike off the main titles list. This means that if CS 1.6 will be featured at an event, it will only be for certain events where it is a perfect fit for the Intel Extreme Masters locally.
The legacy of CS in the Intel Extreme Masters is one of the greatest stories in all of ESL. The names of the champions of all six seasons will be engraved on every Intel Extreme Masters season final trophy a player or a team will ever win."
Over the six seasons in the Intel Extreme Masters, Counter-Strike 1.6 brought a lot of fantastic moments to our events and its community contributed enormously towards its global growth. We hope we have delivered a great deal of entertainment and emotions in return.
For a truly global project like ours, with events on four different continents and many different countries, we require game titles with professional players and teams from all corners of the world. In the recent years of Counter-Strike 1.6, the game has retained its status of a top professional game in Europe but declined in other parts of the world. This was evident at our events outside of Europe.
With this as the basis, we have decided to take Counter-Strike off the main titles list. This means that if CS 1.6 will be featured at an event, it will only be for certain events where it is a perfect fit for the Intel Extreme Masters locally.
The legacy of CS in the Intel Extreme Masters is one of the greatest stories in all of ESL. The names of the champions of all six seasons will be engraved on every Intel Extreme Masters season final trophy a player or a team will ever win."
Source: ESL
