With tweets that are consistently punctuated with emojis that make the account almost seem like a parody, accusations about their failure to act costing tournament organizers hundreds of thousands of dollars, and generally sitting on their heels and collecting money from various TO’s while struggling to make a dent in the many problems the CS:GO scene is currently suffering from.
It’s worth noting that they haven’t been completely absent from the scene; they were a large (if not sole) proponent of fighting for TO’s to ensure teams have time off in between matches so that they can rest, for the sake of their health and the quality of play.
This coming about during the pandemic was an arguably critical juncture during the pandemic, as teams would be playing professional CS:GO for twelve hours straight with no rest, and every match offering monumental consequences for teams, win or lose.
Then CSPPA came out with their team rankings that had more than a few fans and analysts of CS:GO scratching their heads, putting MIBR in the top ten along with Gen.G; even after MIBR was consistently losing to T3 teams in regional play.
Not even close losses; it was difficult to watch even if you are ardently against the Brazilian team as they were clean-swept repeatedly by everyone that ran into them.
Chad ‘SpunJ’ Burchill took the organization to task as they announced they were reworking their rankings to be less humorous than they currently are.
The next CSPPA World Ranking will be published in October. We need to spend time on improving the methodology and correct inconveniences that the community has helped us become aware of 💪THX for this feedback🙏 it is crucial for us to create an independent and inclusive ranking. https://t.co/myupaBUbhX
— Counter-Strike Professional Players' Association (@CSPPAgg) September 8, 2020
You actually used the word inclusive in the tweet.. like what the fuck
— Chad Burchill (@SPUNJ) September 8, 2020
The underlying problem here is that HLTV are largely considered to be the ‘go-to’ rankings for the world of professional Counter-Strike: we’ve used them extensively in the past to explain the shifts of power that have been occurring thanks primarily to the pandemic forcing everyone into online environments with latency and disconnects, and they’re often referenced in streams to offer a frame of reference for the ensuing matchup.
It’s difficult to bring something more to the table, and it appears that CSPPA is struggling to figure out what that ‘something more’ could actually be; a historic ranking that encompasses the past year could be beneficial.
CSPPA ran with the idea of players within the union rankings the teams on what they believe to be the strongest within the scene; a move that some criticized as turning the organization into a ‘boys club’ where rankings were traded like favors.
CSPPA will reveal its newest ranking in October, and many are at the very least mildly interested in what they put out. Here’s hoping that the ranking doesn’t include any lit emojis.
