'Counter-Strike' pros aren't happy with the new PEA league

A large chunk of Counter-Strike pros in North America are not happy.

In an open letter published Wednesday night, 25 professional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players from Cloud9, Counter Logic Gaming, Immortals, Team Liquid and Team SoloMid voiced their concerns about the Professional Esports Association (PEA) — an owner-operated league promising better pay, benefits and player involvement made up of seven North American esports franchises (including those above) unveiled in September.

Issues mentioned in the letter include the PEA's intention of not allowing the seven teams to compete in ESL Pro League while competing in the PEA league, a lack of transparency by the PEA, a lack of player representation in decision making that was previously promised by the PEA and unsatisfactory communication between players and the PEA.

The players' careers are potentially being negatively affected by the PEA and they are airing their grievances publicly with hopes to improve their situation.

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The letter was published by Scott "SirScoots" Smith, an esports veteran who has been involved with multiple facets of esports and esports organizations over the past 17 years. Smith was selected by the players to represent them, the letter states in its introduction.

Smith, the PEA, ESL, and the teams and players involved with the letter have not responded to Mashable's request for comment.

Problems with the PEA

One of the biggest issues laid out in the letter is the PEA's unwillingness to allow its seven teams to compete in ESL Pro League (EPL) — one of the biggest and most prestigious Counter-Strike leagues in the world.

When the PEA's own league was announced, Cloud9 CEO Jack Etienne said in a conference call that the PEA was being "really sensitive" about how it schedules and formats its own competitions in the already-cluttered professional CS:GO scene.

According to the open letter, this isn't how it really panned out.

"The PEA proposed a plan in which EPL would be required to 'vacate' North America, essentially leaving the region in the PEA’s control," the letter says. "As [PEA commissioner] Jason Katz explained to Scott on Dec. 8, EPL could either accept the proposal, or the PEA would force us to withdraw from EPL and restrict us to playing in only the PEA league. There it was: Jason had confirmed exactly what we were concerned about. One way or another, the PEA and our owners intended to prevent us from playing in EPL."

Being locked out of certain tournaments and leagues is a huge problem for Counter-Strike players who base their livelihood on appearing at these major events and use them to practice and compete against teams from all over the world. Not competing in the EPL would be a pretty big blow for any team, especially if their alternative is only competing against fellow North American teams. They'll miss out on valuable practice against some of the best teams in the world and likely suffer.

The PEA's ability to stop teams from competing at certain events was included in the players' contracts, according to the letter.

"This came as a shock  —  our owners had always given us the clear impression that we held the final say when it came to where we competed," the letter says. "In a profession where so much of your income depends on your performance and brand exposure, being able to choose where you play is vital."

The players stated that they are willing to participate in PEA's inaugural season, but will not stand for being forced out of any other competitions. The PEA has stated that its first CS:GO league will begin in January 2017. ESL Pro League Season 5 begins in early February and continues for 12 weeks.

Attempts to communicate with the PEA and obtain information about league happenings has been difficult, the players said in the letter.

Along with that, the promised player representation is not equal to that of league representation in decision making. Spencer "Hiko" Martin, Jordan "N0thing" Gilbert and Jacob "Pimp" Winneche represent the players in PEA meetings, but their three votes can be canceled out by the four votes given to the PEA and owner representatives.

"When our player reps pointed out that this meant we could always be out-voted by the league and the owners, Jason said that it was designed this way intentionally  — to help avoid stalemates," the letter says. "He said that the PEA votes should be considered unbiased and that even as commissioner he would be a trustworthy, unbiased voter."

The letter calls out the two PEA teams that did not sign the letter — NRG Esports and CompLexity — to join the five teams who did sign the letter.