American collegiate esports league excludes CS:GO due to bombing, terrorism and gun violence
Cover Image Courtesy: Thomas Esports | Thumbnail Image Courtesy: Thomas Esports
Thomas College Esports announced the tryouts for its 2019 Fall Season semester for six different esport titles, League of Legends, Rainbow 6: Siege, Rocket League, Fortnite, SSB Ultimate, and Overwatch.
When a user on Twitter asked them a question about not including Counter-Strike, Thomas Esports replied saying that “CS is kind of a no-fly zone in collegiate.” They went on to state that a game that is “exclusively about bombing, terrorism, and gun violence doesn't lend itself well to the academic space.”
They also went ahead and stated that Rainbow 6: Siege is a better replacement for Counter-Strike due to its “visibly strategic elements.”
Thomas College Esports is part of Thomas College located in Waterville, Maine. It is a regular college with an esports varsity programme. The esports programme is known as ‘Thomas Esports CAVE’ (Competitive Academic Varsity Esports) and includes facilities such as systems and accessories, along with a personal facility open to players seven days a week.
Students are taught by ex-pro 'Head Coaches' in structured practices and are afforded travel and stay to major gaming competitions and events that they qualify for or choose to participate in.
Thomas Esports currently holds rosters in the following titles: League of Legends, Overwatch, Rocket League, Fortnite, Rainbow 6: Siege, Magic: The Gathering Arena, and Super Smash Brothers Ultimate.
Notably, the college does not hold a team in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, a major esport title. This is despite the fact that the North American region has been peforming considerably well in the global CS:GO circuit with Team Liquid and NRG both having fantastic runs at the StarLadder Berlin Major 2019.
There have been instances of shootings at recent esport events such as the Madden shooting in Jacksonville, and the involvement of the FBI at the CS:GO LAN, Fragadelphia 13: Huntington Beach which could have possibly influenced this decision. However, replacing CS:GO with Rainbow 6: Siege is questionable given that the two games are similar in a lot of ways.
| Counter-Strike |
Factions: Attackers and Defenders | Factions: Terrorists and Counter Terrorists |
Objectives: Attackers have to plant a bomb or eliminate the opposition. Defenders have to defuse a planted bomb or eliminate the opposition before they can plant it. | Objectives: Terrorists have to plant a bomb or eliminate the opposition. Counter Terrorists have to defuse a planted bomb or eliminate the opposition before they can plant it. |
Weapons: Guns, grenades and other arms and ammunitons. | Weapons: Guns, grenades and other arms and ammunitons. |
Publisher: Ubisoft, 1 Dec, 2015. | Publisher and Release Date: Valve, 21 Aug, 2012. |
