Evgenii "Gufis" Kondratev As top teams prepare to battle at IEM Katowice, PGL has announced the list of invited teams for its tournament in Cluj-Napoca. Notably, several top teams have chosen to skip the Romanian event, with FaZe Clan being the only media powerhouse confirming participation.
Image: x.com
One of the biggest surprises was Natus Vincere’s decision to decline the invite. After all, one of their players, iM, is Romanian, and playing in front of a home crowd could have been a meaningful moment for him.
Image: instagram.com
The player addressed the decision on social media, but his statement might bring some controversy:
I saw that there are many messages in which you want to know why I don't participate.
All I can tell you is that there are contracts signed since the beginning of the year where and how we participated.
And another reason for us is that if we participated we would not have had free time, having 6 or even 7 consecutive contests, which means we would be left home somewhere between 2 and 3 months, which is not recommended.
Pre-signed tournament contracts? That seems to go against what Valve aimed for when it reformed the CS2 ecosystem. After all, how is committing in advance to a set series of tournaments any different from a league?
This is especially relevant considering that programs like BLAST’s Frequent Flyers are structured to ensure top teams don't skip events throughout the year—giving them a share of a $2 million reward pool.
So, in reality, tournament operator inequality hasn’t gone anywhere. It will be interesting to see how Valve reacts, especially given their recent close monitoring of the competitive ecosystem.
Main image: instagram.com
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