by Jimbo “soX” Robinson
Graphics by Andy “Ez” Price
Chicago Chimera and the CGS TrophyWell over a month has passed since the demise of the Championship Gaming Series (CGS), and one thing has become evidentally clear; Counter-Strike 1.6 seems to be the game of choice around the world. When the CGS started up back in the spring of 2007, the North American 1.6 scene began to lose all of its top talent to this new and unproved Gaming Franchise. There was one perk of this new and upcoming “league” however, guaranteed salaries and potentially more recognition for e-Sports, and why not; DIRECTV was main sponsor. After a few seasons of what seemed to be a success, the CGS surprisingly closed the doors, ending what could have been a great thing for us gamers.
All of the players, staff members, and General Managers were now released from their contracts, ending the steady stream of income that lured most away from 1.6 in the first place. This could have been a disaster for e-Sports in general, players could have retired with fear of not having income to live their daily lives on; General Managers could have easily went on living their lives with their families.
That left a lot of questions about North American gamers and how they would now fair in a game that seemed to be fading away slowly as each day passed. Would the former Game of the Year; Counter-Strike 1.6, finally be at the end of its day? Was it time for the “new blood” to finally take their place in the spot light? Only time could really answer those kinds of questions, and it certainly should be one heck of a ride.
“I know one thing for fact; I haven’t seen the North American Counter-Strike scene in such an excited frenzy since the days of CPL and Cal-Invite. Who knows, maybe we will see the comeback of ages.” It wouldn’t be very long before the organizations started coming together and releasing their new lineups; something that gave the game a “breath of fresh air.” The Evil Geniuses organization announced the acquisition of long time compLexity players: warden, fRoD, and storm. No matter what your thoughts on the whole situation may be, they still pose a serious threat and were indeed, a solid pickup for that organization. You then have teams such as zEx announcing their planned 1.6 runs, team JMC with their new and improved lineup. The gaming organization Frag Dominant announced that they would sign the former EG.usa squad to be the face of their franchise. They should go well with current North American teams: Gravitas Gaming, and x3o; and we could be see the NA cs scene grow quite fast.
After all of the great organizations seem to be resurrecting their former name, a few questions still remain: Where is compLexity and Team 3D? Will they also return to their former glories? You really can’t have a successful gaming scene without two of the biggest named franchises in history can you? Is this the end of an era for such teams?
I know one thing for fact; I haven’t seen the North American Counter-Strike scene in such an excited frenzy since the days of CPL and Cal-Invite. Who knows, maybe we will see the comeback of ages. This could definitely be the beginning of something truly special for all you e-Sports fans around the world!