ESL announce controversial self-elimination rule for IEM CSGO events
ESL have announced a new set of rules for their Intel Extreme Masters Counter-Strike: Global Offensive events, and one of which has not gone down well with fans and players.
ESL are one of the biggest tournament organizers in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, bringing numerous exciting events to fans all around the world. Their biggest events, known as Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) tournaments are some of the most prestigious in the game.
The company announced a few rule changes to these events on November 4, with fans and players reacting rather negatively to one change in particular.
IEM events are some of the biggest in CSGO.This new rule states that “A player is not allowed to intentionally cause self-elimination of their player character. This includes using the /kill command or using map features to deny kills to the opposing team.”
It is followed by an example – jumping off the map on Vertigo, one of the first competitive CSGO maps where a player can easily fall to their deaths. This change comes with the addition of the map to the competitive pool, which is replacing the recently updated Cache.
We have updated the #IEM Rulebook for season 14 ahead of Katowice 2020. Read on to find out what has changed:https://t.co/JcYjWUPzhP
— Intel®ExtremeMasters (@IEM) November 4, 2019
Fans and players were quick to criticize this rule, claiming that it makes the game simpler as tactical deaths are used by players to deny kill bonuses, guns, and equipment to their opponents. With this rule, one interesting element of the game would be removed.
Others noted that the rule is vague and unclear, as it doesn’t specify exactly what is and isn’t a self-elimination in the game, and if it only counts self-eliminations on the kill feed or team kills as well.
ESL have not yet commented on the matter, however, with IEM Beijing being just around the corner, players will have to quickly adjust to this rule, and fans may even see some controversy at the event.
IEM Beijing is set to take place from November 7-10, with top teams like Astralis, Vitality, Evil Geniuses, and FaZe Clan all competing for a large chunk of the $250,000 prize pool.