Written By: Mike "nukleuz" Rockwood

The Views of the author do not necessarily reflect the views of Gotfrag or its staff

When Angel Munoz announced Painkiller as the premier game for the CPL World Tour, gamers became bitterly divided. Though most gamers have finally come to accept, and even embrace the upcoming year of rockets and stakes, there are still those that just can’t get over it! For you, I have outlined the reasons why Painkiller is indeed the best choice for the CPL World Tour.

Team based games aren’t well suited for tours. Looking at professional sports, we see there are few, if any tours for team sports such as football, basketball, and hockey. Yet we do see thriving individual events like the PGA Golf Tour and the ACP Chess Tour. The costs of sending five players around the world are devastating, and strongly limit the number of teams able to attend even one event a year. However, a single player may attend several events for substantially less money. And with sponsors quickly pouring into Painkiller, players will likely be able to attend all ten events without a severe hit to the pocketbook.

Developer support is crucial to the success of any major tournament, and absolutely essential to the CPL World Tour. Who can forget the Cyber X Games earlier this year? Though contractually bound, Valve employees did not attend CXG to help setup the Counter-Strike servers and keep the tournament running smoothly. They instead opted to release a patch midway through the event, effectively ending any possibility of using Steam for the CS tournament. Teams hailing from across the globe were left with no compensation for their travel and expenses. In short, CXG was a flop. In light of that, and with the amount of money being pumped into the CPL World Tour, Angel Munoz needs some kind of insurance. Epic and iD software, the developers of Unreal Tournament 2004 and Doom 3, were unwilling to comply with Angel’s wishes, leaving People Can Fly, a team already devoted to the success of their first title.

The fact that Painkiller has a small fan base does nothing but help gamers since we all know Painkiller is the newest viable 1v1 game. This has leveled the playing field a great deal. Players from all gaming backgrounds have a chance to be successful in Painkiller. Case in point: CPL Summer 2004. Alessandro "stermy" Avallone and Justin “wreck” Hayden, two players of relatively little 1v1 experience, were able to place 4th and 5th, finishing above many veteran duelers such as Daler and Rix, with little more than a vigorous training schedule.

At first glance, Painkiller is much easier to understand than most games. With only five guns and two players, a spectator with no gaming experience can easily digest what is happening at all times. For example, Mark “wombat” Larsen claims even his mother can understand Painkiller, which is exactly the kind of spectator appeal the CPL needs to boost professional gaming into the limelight.

Painkiller is the best choice for the CPL and for gamers. I hope this article can put the debate to rest once and for all. If you are still curious about Painkiller I strongly suggest you check it out for yourself. Many players that were once apprehensive have come to really enjoy the game.

The Views of the author do not necessarily reflect the views of Gotfrag or its staff