CSPPA announces player committee to work on world ranking rules

The Counter-Strike Professional Players Association has announced a player committee dedicated to working on refining the rules that dictate its own world rankings.

In a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive world where there exist several different sets of world rankings that claim to be definitive, the one organization that should be focusing on player health and well-being wants in on the ranking game too. A one-page press release distributed on November 2 lists several players who will head the committee and recommend changes to how the CSPPA ranks teams in its world rankings. The move comes as a surprise, as the CSPPA has seemed less involved in its original mission: keeping players from being overworked and overtaxed in a CSGO landscape that is filled with tournament after tournament.

Six players are included on the list:

• Nathan “NBK” Schmitt
• Chris “chrisJ” de Jong
• Christopher “dexter” Nong
• Lucas “steelega” Lopes
• Asger “AcilioN” Larsen
• Andrey “Jerry” Mekhryakov

Amid rankings discussion, CSPPA’s mission ultimately seems unclear

It is ultimately unclear what type of changes these players will have on the CSPPA’s rankings, which are currently supplemental to the various other rankings used by tournament organizers and media outlets that cover CSGO. Moreover, the CSPPA’s communications haven’t come by way of press releases and official documents, but only pictures and .jpgs posted to the CSPPA’s official Twitter account. The CSPPA has not responded to any emails regarding it or its purported mission.

The original mission of the CSPPA was to safeguard all member players from the harsh demands of the CSGO schedule, but with each month comes another release that looks like an advancement of the CSPPA’s cause at first glance, but includes little actual change for member players. For instance, the CSPPA’s prior announcement was that it would simply follow the guidelines set forth by ESL and DreamHack for its tournaments in regards to illness prevention and the organizer’s upcoming tournaments. 

The membership fee for CSGO players wanting to be part of the CSPPA is unknown, as are the actual benefits currently afforded to its members.