Igennem seks perfekte sæsoner af Intel Extreme Masters har Counter-Strike 1.6 været hovedspillet, men det er fra dags dato slut.

I sidste sæson blev Counter-Strike: Global Offensive en del af eventen, hvilket allerede der satte spørgsmålstegn ved 1.6s overlevelse i den sammenhæng.

Det kan Electronic Sports League i dag bekræfte eftersom de har annonceret, at vores elskede spil ikke er en del af hovedspillene mere. Vi lader pressemeddelsen fra ESL forklare:

"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 to 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 of our decision, 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."

Som Carmac fint beskriver i pressemeddelsen vil 1.6 kun være på programmet ved de events, hvor det vil give mening indenfor Europa. 

Link:

ESL