The Commissioner's Office has, together with ESL and the 12 partnered CS:GO teams, formed a Player Council for the ESL Pro League. The Council gives each team’s roster a voice - and a vote - on critical decisions concerning the ESL Pro League. The concept has been built out and will continuously evolve moving forward as we want the players’ perspective to be heard and to make sure that they have a say in upcoming decisions.
With this newly developed EPL Player Council the players will get the opportunity to:
- Learn more about the business side of the industry, understand how and why decisions are being made and get proactively involved in shaping the league.
- Advocate for change, improvement and set new standards within the ESL Pro League for all participating teams across the globe.
- Help improve the conditions for current and future players by setting standards which, for example, include PC set-ups, practice facilities, accommodation, transport, hospitality, comfort, preparation and performance.
- Openly approach the council with ideas, feedback and critique. We want to take our lead from the teams and redefine how players are involved in decision making.
The EPL Player Council recently held their first meeting in late February of 2021 and before that meeting, each of the 12 teams were tasked to select an active player or coach to represent their organisation on the council. The selected members of the Council are:
Any issues identified by the council that have relevance outside of EPL will be relayed and processed accordingly with other parties. The player council will meet four times a year and will keep its current formation for two years, but is subject to change if any of the members move from their current team. The next meeting of the Player Council is scheduled for May 2021.
For more information, read the official PR announcement here: LINK
"The Commissioner’s Office made the effort to speak to us before this whole Council was launched, to get our views and feedback on how this initiative could work best. I for one really appreciated that. I am sure not everything is perfect, and that things will evolve in the first year or two, but at least we will be at the heart of that, guiding that evolution. A whole new forum for us, where each team has a seat and voice, to bring our ideas and concerns to management, to the leadership, with already developed mechanisms to bring items to a proper Pro League Members vote: that is encouraging to me. The first meeting already gave us a flavour of what we can expect: it is refreshing to be on the inside and trusted!"
Joonas “doto” Forss, ENCE player
"I’m happy to be involved in this new Player Council along with my colleagues from around the ESL Pro League. I’ve had a tremendous amount of respect for these players and coaches throughout their careers and it’s awesome to work with them on this project. It’s clear that both players and tournament organizers feel there is value in improving the lines of communication between the two parties. Similar endeavors in the past have struggled or failed to achieve their goals, and there is a very real chance that this can go down that same path. I find hope that despite the struggles in the past there are many who continue to see the value in developing a council such as this. I am cautiously optimistic that we can improve current conditions and identify new opportunities to align the well-being of the players with the growth of the Pro League ecosystem."
Jason “moses” O'Toole, Team Liquid coach & president of the EPL Player Council
