Tournament officials at ECS have stated the upcoming ECS Season 8 Finals will utilize the most recent CS:GO patch, which introduced more weapon tweaks, most namely, to the SG 553.
The ECS Season 8 Finals will employ the latest patch but players will not be able to use the new, customizable character models (Image via ECS)
According to FACEIT’s Director of Esports Roald Van Buuren, the decision was reached alongside The Counter-Strike Professional Players’ Association (CSPPA). While the tournament will employ the latest patch, it was noted that players will not be able to use the new, customizable character models (agents) due to “concerns about visibility.”
The ECS decision to use default character models comes following protests and growing concerns from players that visibility issues are affecting the integrity and putting some individuals at a disadvantage.
Professional player and streamer Alex “LeX” Deily took to Twitter, saying he “won’t be playing CS:GO again in the near future.” Team Liquid’s star rifler Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski, who did the same, following up in a Reddit post providing more clarity on his visibility concerns.
“I am color blind and I have been having some difficulties distinguishing some of the models from the backgrounds in some cases,” EliGE said.
The CSPPA stepping in to consult on the matter marks the organization’s first public stance. Seeing the professional collective at work to attack potential damaging scenarios is a great sign for the future of CS:GO and the organization.
The ECS Season 8 Finals will make its way to Arlington, Texas at the end of this month from November 28 – December 1. A $500,000 prize pool and Counter-Strike’s finest teams to have qualified will be in attendance – the cast includes Evil Geniuses, Team Liquid, Astralis and Fnatic.
