Sean Gares explains why StarLadder Berlin Major has been “excellent” even with DMCA drama

Counter-Strike event amid public outcry over recent DMCA takedowns from the tournament organizers and associated streaming services.

StarLadder came under heavy fire in recent weeks after issuing DMCA takedowns to various Twitch streamers that resulted in their channels being flagged or banned.

Now former Cloud9 player turned desk analyst Gares has stepped in to explain why, despite the copyright strikes drama swirling around StarLadder’s first major, the tournament organizers have provided great equipment, interesting seeding formats, and more.

“If you’re one of the people still hating on this major, just realize StarLadder provided the best computers possible for players, used excellent seeding format, hired talent the community requested, hired a top tier observer mid-event, (and has) little to no delays,” he said.

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That wasn’t all that Gares believed StarLadder had done right at the German-based premier event. “(They also) provided the most thrilling legends stage I can remember, had two best of threes per day for champion stage, had a ridiculous venue for the legends stage and even allowed fans to attend, (and) they have been here since day fucking one.”

There were many who disagreed with the stance, including CSGO streamer Erik ‘fl0m’ Flom, who was one of the content creators slapped with a DMCA notice for streaming the event via the GOTV version of the coverage found inside the game.

“Bruh. DMCA’d streamers without warning, had to hire an observer mid-tournament because they put themselves in a situation where they had to, hired all the best talent after trying to leave out the best talent from the major,” the Mythic star said.

Despite fl0m’s outrage, Gares was positive about StarLadder’s response to the recent dramas, and reminded those still angry at the Ukrainian-based organizers that they were “not the only TO to threaten such measures when it comes to majors.”

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“Do you think StarLadder has access to shut down your stream? Why not partially blame Twitch? The issue is very complex. The DMCA thing is weird, and has so many variables that I don’t understand. We definitely need some clarification from Valve on that.”

While the DMCA issues and other production problems have sparked outcries from the community, in-game the Berlin Major has been one of the most exciting in recent times.

G2 and mousesports were eliminated on the final day, while expected favorites Team Liquid barely scraped into the final eight. Astralis-CR4ZY also broke the major record for most rounds played with a hefty 60 on Dust II.

The quarter-finals of the StarLadder Berlin Major begin from 9.30am PT on Thursday, September 5. Keep up-to-date with all the action from the Mercedes-Benz Arena via our StarLadder Major hub.