PGL Major CS:GO Players to Reportedly Face Disqualification if They Test Positive For COVID

The PGL Major Stockholm 2021 is all set to kick off from 26^th October onwards with the first set of matches already announced by the organizers. However, a certain rule pointed out in the tournament's official rulebook has taken the players and teams by surprise.

According to the rules and safety protocols listed out by PGL, "Players, coaches, and managers that show symptoms of COVID-19 and show positive test results may not be able to continue playing in the tournament and may be disqualified."

This particular rule has got the players and teams concerned. According to Dexerto, the players are off the opinion that those who test positive should be made to isolate in their respective hotel rooms themselves, at least for the early stages of the tournament if not for the final LAN stage taking place at Avicii Arena.

CS:GO players will be disqualified from PGL Major 2021 if they test positive

As per the rules and safety guidelines listed in the PGL Major Stockholm 2021 rulebook that Dexerto has reportedly gotten access to, any member of a participating team will be disqualified in case they test positive for COVID-19.

Apart from this, the other rules listed as part of this alleged tournament rulebook are as follows,

• Players, coaches, and managers have been advised to wear a mask at all times while being around other people.

• Members of all the teams are expected to follow all the local laws and regulations listed out by Sweden's health protocol.

• In their free time members of all the participating teams are not restricted, but may be subjected to penalties or disqualification in case the person is deemed to have endangered the safety of the tournament by putting others at risk.

While the three rules listed above have been well received and seem reasonable, the rule particularly citing disqualification has observed resistance and concern by CS:GO players competing at the tournament.

If in case a player tests positive at the tournament, the team will have an option to substitute their sixth player or their coach as they will disqualified, as per the current rules in place for the CS:GO Major.

Otherwise, the organizers can implement something similar to what ESL did with IEM Cologne 2021, which was the first CS:GO LAN tournament since the competitive circuit had shifted online in early 2020. During that tournament, any player who had tested positive (entire Heroic lineup, Boris "magixx⁠" Vorobiev, Abdul "degster⁠" Gasanov) was simply quarantined in their hotel room from where they continued to compete.

This change is however unlikely from PGL's side due to broadcast-related reasons. Also, the last phase of this tournament is set to take place in front of packed crowd at the Avicii Arena due to which implementing any changes might result in practical and logistical challenges.