After the merger and acquisition of FACEIT and ESL Gaming in Q2 of 2020 by Saudi Arabia owned Savvy Gaming Group, the game we love has been reduced to a sportswashing scheme. The desparate fixation on statistics “forces” the TO’s to focus on high level events free of charge for the online viewers, which led to the Faustian bargain.
However, it is not the only instance this happened, as Blast went into a partnership with Abu Dhabi. 30% of BLAST is owned by Vækstfonden (The Danish Growth Fund), which is a taxpayer funded investment fund, who's goal is to help with growth in Danish companies (Source). This received heavy criticism from Danish politician Søren Søndergaard, who said to DR Sporten:
“One thing is that private companies invest in Abu Dhabi and similar dictatorship states, but Danish taxpayers should not contribute to that. Therefore, I will discuss with the minister whether it really can be right that the Growth Fund, which explicitly has business ethics and social responsibility in its mission, should directly or indirectly contribute to investments in this princely dictatorship,” (Source).
Furthermore, it has been heavily criticized by Amnesty International Denmark, where the press manager Malene Haakanson mentions the sportswashing aspect of the deal and says further:
“As a state financing fund, the Growth Fund has an increased responsibility, and therefore, it should ask Blast what considerations and preparations they have made before choosing to engage in a partnership in a country known for serious human rights violations” (Source).
They are currently the two biggest tournament organizers within the Counter-Strike space, who made a soft franchising model with their partners.
Valve Plans To End Franchising
There is light at the end of the tunnel, as Valve issued a statement on the 3rd of August 2023, with the fitting name “A Level Playing Field”, where by 2025 franchising will not be a possibility in their IP (Source).
This will lessen the power and impact that these tournament organizers will have on the scene, which in turn will let other tournament organizers compete side-by-side in a level playing field.
This gives the teams the choice that was removed after the Faustian bargain was struck, whether to compete in these tournaments or not. Furthermore, it has created an incentive for other tournament organizers to try the market for subscription-based viewing and gain a stable economic basis to take a stance and compete against the influence the Middle-East has built up until this point. The possibility for the market to have matured enough and grown a conscience is a real option, as it has been seen previously with the instances of the backlash Blast and LEC’s earlier merger with Saudi Arabia was undone due to community pressure.
The Agency Of Morality Could Be On The Rise
The esports industry is in a dark period economically, which can disincentivize the organisations to be morally upstanding. The maturity of the scene is grey and clouded at best, which is best represented by how there was a lackluster reaction of the community from the ESL Gaming and FACEIT merger, as well as questionable hires from organizations, such as Swedish organization Ninjas In Pyjamas who hired a celebrity sex offender as senior video producer, or the fact that the fans never have payed for their entertainment, which led to this situation to happen.
Furthermore, there is the duality of morals and hypocrisy from people within the industry, for example Jonas Gundersen, the COO of Ninjas In Pyjamas calling for lack of diversity at the PGL Stockholm Major in October 2021, to then later announce their new office in Abu Dhabi, while also finishing their merger with Chinese digital sports ESV5. This is just one example of how immature the actors of the esports scene is/has been.
However, this chance gives an active choice for organizations working within the Counter-Strike space, where they have the agency to pick and choose the tournaments they participate in, and not be contractually obliged. Two wrongs don’t make a right, but from 2025 and onwards, there is no excuse for the organizations who advertise for their morality, with their pride flags in June and celebration for International Women's Day, to be accountable for their actions and stances.
