The FPL Circuit is FaceIt Pro League, where select members of the competitive Counter-Strike community can meet up and play extremely difficult matches for a chance to earn cash prizes at the end of the month.
It’s closed to the general public; the closest the vast majority of us would ever get is managing to catch streams of it late at night from specific members within NA CS.
When we can catch a glimpse, however, it’s an absolute sight to behold: monstrous clutches, outlandish plays, and the occasional tilt coming from revered names within the League such as Russel ‘Twistzz’ David Van Dulken and Jake ‘Stewie2K’ Yip in a VIP PUG environment.
Even pro players can get kicked from the league if they aren’t performing well enough in matches, or active enough on the Circuit to merit that spot not going to someone else.
The FPL Circuit has admittedly been decaying a bit during the current talent exodus into Valorant within North America, and it becomes a bit of a self-fulfilling prophecy.
Players within the Circuit don’t want to queue it as they don’t want to wait for a match, which means that those that are waiting for a match wait longer, which kills the Circuit further. Then rumors of the Circuit being otherwise dead begin circulating which further kills the possible matches within it.
It a disastrous cycle that FaceIt has attempted to plug yesterday in what some are calling an unprecedented move: FaceIt has allowed multiple players from MDL to move up into the hallowed Circuit to ensure that there are more matches ready to be played by any of the big names that want to.
Note that, due to the more restricted nature of the Circuit, you won’t be able to hop in at any time and watch matches; they tend to occur late at night, and only for a few hours before everyone bids farewell and moves on to other matches and titles for the remaining streams, or perhaps simply grinding out on standard FaceIt matches that tend to pop off a bit readier late in the evening.
The move, at least last night, seems to have worked: FPL queues were readily popping off late Friday night with the younger talent eager to show their worth in the matches that were leagues better than standard play, and it could very-well entice some of the bigger names to return to the circuit to earn an additional stipend or two while giving young talent a chance to bare their fangs.
This is vital for the NA CS scene; it can help establish a groundswell of support for players that can show their worth to more established names, and begin a process of recruitment and talent-cultivation within the scene. Once again, we’re seeing the beginning of the return of North American Counter-Strike, a small spark in an otherwise cavernous darkness that is European dominance within the league.
It isn’t over, fans. It’s far from over.
