As an American Counter-Strike or Counter-Strike: Source player, most of us have seen the split between the community as well as the slowly diminishing competitive play that 1.6 players and teams used to have. However, what really changed between the time that Counter-Strike reigned as the titan of competitive team play video games until now, where the competitive scene in the United States is now split between the new and the old? No, this article will not provide every answer to reigniting the competitive flame for Counter-Strike 1.6 players, nor will it favor either game of choice. Now, let us go back.

My personal first experience with competitive Counter-Strike was when my pub-clan’s leader sent me a demo of the CPL finals, and told me to watch and learn. From that moment on, my goal was simple: with whatever power I possess, I had to develop the ability to play like these early icons. Surely, this is not the case for everyone who plays or played this game competitively. Perhaps some were simply introduced to scrimmages and the form of league play, while others may have been shown a simple frag movie that caught their eye, who knows. One thing definitely changed from those days until now, and it’s quite easy to realize if you have been following the scene. The game itself is no longer played for the fun of competition. Now, teams are more eager to chase after money wherever it may lie.

What happened to people following the middle-tiers of play? Take a look back to before CEVO had released itself, and CAL was the main league of online play. CAL-Main, before premier, had been a league where these teams were respected and their matches were covered. Predictions were released every week, with more than one usual predictor. HLTV broadcasts for some of these matches were prone to holding more than the average LAN tournament spectator count today. Yes, you can say these players of CAL-Main season 9 and before have moved on and so have their fans, but you cannot argue the fact that the scene is now larger than before and even though some familiar faces have disappeared, the competition in these leagues is not completely gone.

So where does the problem in American Counter-Strike 1.6 lay? No, it’s not with the teams that have left the scene to compete in the CGS, nor is it in GotFrag or any other e-Sports coverage site. The main problem is the lower tiers of competitive play. I’m sure most of you will agree with me when I say, the first time you or I played in CAL-intermediate or perhaps for some of the newcomers, CEVO-im, it was something to be proud of for us. Season 4 or even up to Season 11 in CAL, it was something worthy. Predictions, coverage, rivalries, the desire to win. What for? Thinking about it now, it was CAL-intermediate, but it was the principle of competition. No, I wasn’t playing for a salary in this game, nor was I playing with a camera behind me televising the match. Sure, these things are great, but it has led us to believe that that is the only way e-Sports should be led.

The answer to all of this lies within you: the reader, the player, the spectator, the winner, the loser - the base of what was once an extremely competitive Counter-Strike scene. This goes out to every competitive player in any video game that wants their game to thrive. The reason our scene has gone bland is not because of anything with the tournaments themselves, or companies or the teams. Rather, it’s the lack of competitive drive by the up-and-coming and even those who have made it. Although I would rather avoid sounding as if I’m Smokey the bear telling you in second grade that only you can prevent forest fires, here it goes: Only you can make the difference in the advancement of competitive play in the United States.

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