PGL Major Stockholm 2021 is a long-awaited tournament. We’ve all missed Majors, right? But does the main event of the year match our expectations from esports in 2021? The CS.MONEY Blog selected three gimmicks that tournament operators could employ to spice up the next Major.
Team items from Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege
Counter-Strike: Global Offensive already features team stickers and patches. That’s not bad, but there’s one problem: you can’t really see them during a match. No one will see your awesome AK-47 Fuel Injector with that streak of Natus Vincere stickers until they pick it up from the ground or you drop the gun to a teammate.
With patches, the situation’s even direr. First, many don’t use agents at all. Second, no one really looks at the enemy in a shoutout, with everyone focused on squeezing the trigger and eliminating the opponent. As a result, you don’t get to flaunt neither cool stickers nor patches in-game.
So why not add team agents to the game? Valve has already implemented an interesting trick with autographs, adding them only for the teams that made it to the playoffs. What about replacing autographs with agents in team uniforms? Like they did in Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, for example
In this discipline, teams that participate in the Major regularly receive team sets in-game. A set of items consisting of a skin for a gun, armor, and helmet for an agent, and a keychain, can be purchased for real money and used in matches.
Another important point: in Rainbow Six Siege, players choose different characters with different skills, with a team set only suitable for one particular character. In CS:GO, there’s no such problem. Valve only needs to release a CT and T agent in a team uniform — and that would settle the matter!
More lore like in League of Legends
Remember the intro videos for operations? The agent descriptions? Comics with storylines incorporating the events of Counter-Strike: Global Offensive? Valve has been fiddling with in-game lore for a long time now, but the devs haven’t quite used all the potential that cornucopia of fan service has to offer.
A great example of this approach is Riot Games and their League of Legends. See for yourself: each hero has their own biography, and each location has its own page with a description. From time to time, the company releases videos and clips featuring League of Legends champions. There’s more: the company even released a Module for Dungeons & Dragons — the very board game played by the main characters in Stranger Things.
Valve can’t jump in at the deep end like that, but they can start with something basic. Take Ancient, for example. PGL Major Stockholm 2021 is the first Major to feature this map. We’re dying to learn what these ruins are, why they were targeted, and what the next step in this fight is supposed to be. Valve could answer these questions. But as of today, we have to be content with speculation along the lines of “Ancient is a remake of Aztec under a different name” instead. It would be nice to see what Valve could make out of this idea.
Matches in various CS:GO modes
In addition to in-game lore and team skins, this Major could offer a spectacular show match. There’s even no need to search for ideas from others to implement that! Modes already existent in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive would be more than sufficient.
The usual 5-v.-5 match could be replaced with a mini-tournament in Wingman mode or another Battle Royale, like the one at IEM Katowice Major 2019. Alternatively, Valve could just organize a series of Arms Race-style matches, where players can show off their skills with non-meta guns.
BLAST competitions, accompanied by a whole bunch of exciting activities featuring players, provide a huge source of inspiration. There’s an obstacle course, duels, and team firefights on a shifting map. That looks a lot more exciting than another 5-v.-5 match, right?
Share your ideas that can make CS:GO Major even more interesting and entertaining in the comments below.
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