The Cs_Summit – Why Counter Strike should be embracing one of Dota2’s most loved events

One of Dota 2’s most loved events, The Summit is set to make its foray into the world of Counter Strike and we couldn’t be more excited. Hosted by Beyond the Summit, a studio and tournament organizing company which focuses mainly on Dota 2, this will be BTS’s inaugural event in Counter Strike. The Dota 2 Summit has already seen 6 successful iterations and BTS has gone on to Summit’s for other games like Smash Bro’s.
     
The cs_summit will be a LAN event in L.A and feature a prize pool of 150k USD. While the prize money isn’t something to write home about, it’s the format and the presentation that’s the USP of the event. But we’ll get to that later. 8 top teams from all around the world have been invited for season 1 and it’s very obvious that some of the big names are missing. However the likes of SK Gaming, NiP, EnVyUs, Gambit, Optic, Liquid, Cloud 9 and GODSENT will be attending the LAN. The LAN kicks off on the 20^th of March and personalities like Machine, Fifflaren, ddk, James Bardolph and Yanko will also be at the event.
     
Venue : Unlike most big ticket LANs, The Summit is a closed event, that is conducted in a house in Los Angeles. This means that there are no crowds, no fans at the venue. The tournament is streamed directly on Twitch on the BTS channel. Instead of booths/separated platforms, the 2 teams which are playing are put in different rooms. Infact, the entire setup is inside a house, meaning there are practise PC's, entertainment/waiting areas, production areas, F&B areas all in different rooms of a big house. 
 
Setting: The Summit is known for its casual, laid back theme. The entire tournament basically is a big LAN party with prize money involved. Instead of a panel and 2 casters, the Summit features a bunch of pro players and casters on a couch. It’s a mix of part play by play and part analysis with a whole lot of banter thrown in. There’s also some genuine insight and perspectives that only the pro players can bring in and it’s very unique as well. Generally the host or the caster directs conversation and does a bit of play by play while pulling in the other couch members. But we’ve seen crazy things like professional players doing play by play at the Summit before. There are also a whole lot of bits/sketches/gags which are generally pre shot and edited. For example there used to be bathtub interviews, mini Mario Kart tournaments, live Mafia games all thrown in.
   
Not everything is casual of course. The games are still played out with intense ferocity and it’s still a LAN with decent prize money at stake. There are dedicated observers as well so nothing is missed in that sense. Overall it’s a very neatly organized LAN that is known to be loads of fun for players and viewers alike. Over the years, The Summit has become a fan favorite for Dota 2 fans due to its fresh concept (it’s actually a format used in a Starcraft tournament, but I was too lazy to look it up) and hopefully it can become a staple in the CS:GO scene as well.