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All Games: CGS Down, CGS Players, staff react

By: Marc Turner - Published November 18, 2008 at 6:18 PM EST - Writer Archive
Former players, staff and fans react to the end of the Championship Gaming Series.
(GotFrag) - The eSports community is still in shock over today's announcement but some are starting to speak out. The community seems to be divided pretty evenly between celebration and mourning. Those many who despised the CGS are of course coming out of the woodwork to claim victory, while many in the sport ponder the repercussions of another failed eSports league. GotFrag spoke with former CGS players and staff as well as members of the community about the announcement.

Former San Francisco OPTX CS:Source player Yazan "Clown" Ammari had this to say about the closing, "After a long night of playing the newly released game, Left 4 Dead, I get a wake up call by my manager Kat Hunter telling me that CGS has closed shop. I didn't know what to say at first I suddenly got up out of bed and asked her what exactly she meant. She replied saying that CGS all though they thought they were doing the right thing its a little too earlly for CGS in the gaming world and it's not ready."

Ammari, obviously not happy with the news continued, "Personally, I am pissed, I was invited onto a reality show and stopped from doing it because CGS said it was a conflict of interest, and assured me that CGS and CS:S would be in this next years CGS season, thanks for staying true!".

Another player from the OPTX, Mike "Paradox" Stanowski, had this to say about the CGS' demise, "I woke up today thinking about our preparations for the CGS PRO-AM finals... two hours later I get news that CGS is closing its doors and get on the phone with Kat Hunter to have her confirm it. Safe to say I've been putting a lot of my personal time and effort this last month and throughout the year into Optx and CGS respectively."

Stanowski was a little more philosophical about the shut down than his team mate, "Logically I should have anticipated something like this but emotionally it's hard, especially when you're trying to compete to the best of your ability. That was my one and only focus but now it's time to rethink the entire picture. Sad day indeed."

The flamboyant, outspoken, well dressed former general manager of the CGS Dallas Venom, Alex "Jax" Conroy was also obviously very disappointed, as well as surprised by the news, "This news comes as a shock to all of us. At this point I don't have any definite plans. With the team more than half way through the cevo season, it would be a shame to at least not finish that. That is completely up to my players, who I am still extremely loyal too. I was in esports in the near begining, and I don't plan on abandoning ship just because we hit an iceberg. This is a sad day for esports as a whole."

Speaking with New York 3D player Jon "juan" Mumm, who had been a rookie this past season, he stated, "I am entirely disappointed to see that the CGS is closing its doors. Playing in the CGS Season 2 was one of the most memorable experiences of my life."

Mumm continued, "Although I am deeply saddened I will not be able to continue this adventure with my friends and teammates into next season, I feel very blessed to have been given the opportunity to have been able to do this, as not many other people can say that they have."

On the subject of what lies ahead, Mumm stated, "As of right now, I do not know the future of my team and CS career."

Former CGS staff writer Bobby "Weenus" hicks had this to say about the announcement, "The fact of the matter is, the impact of this will be rivaled only by that of CXG's massive failure. The biggest news of eSports in 2008 has been that of a company folding, and that is not good for anyone. A lot of us woke up today or came home from class to find out that we're all jobless, which isn't a good situation to be in, in 2008 America."

Hicks offers a silver lining in this gray cloud by saying, "On the bright side, I guess, we'll be able to see a lot of the American talent re-added to the domestic pool of 1.6 players, and within a few months, I think you'll see that a vast majority of the veteran players who made the jump from 1.6 to Source are still some of the most talented Counter-Strike players in the world."

On reasons for the demise, Hicks had this to say, "I think it's obvious that the CGS made major mistakes in the launch of their product, way beyond just the amount of PoV cameras. They waited over a year to truly ackowledge the Online aspects of our community, and if you payed attention, the Pro-Am was about the most popular thing the company had put together as far as eSports was concerned. I believe that had they taken that initiative from day one, listening to the experienced and well rounded minds that they had pulled from eSports like Jason Bass, Craig Levine and Jason Lake, that the company would still be running today, with the support of the community."

Augusto "Noobzaibot" Zapata, former general manager for the CGS' Mexico City Furia stated, "It's a sad day from a personal point of view and in the general eSports scene."

The San Francisco OPTX' former player, Garret "GRT" Bambrough was disappointed but optimistic, "It sucks that it ended up this way but it was fun while it lasted. All we can do now is look forward to the future and see where gaming brings us. Look for some new teams in 1.6 that's bound to happen."

User Comments

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DAYUMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmnnnnnnnn...
#majin
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Would like to hear what that brand new CEO they brought in earlier this year thinks.

She did a bang up job!
Coverage Director - GotFrag.com
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2008: The year when the sh*t hit the fan

not just in gaming, but in America in general.
JAMES MADISON UNIVERSITY
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should have interviewed more former CS 1.6 Giants instead of mostly just new source players
#majin
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haha, even GRT says that a lot of the teams will come back to 1.6 now.
#breakdown
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they are right, for gaming as a whole this isnt the greatest thing. but if CGS sponsored 1.6 they would have had probably 5-6x the following. and the US wasnt ready for a game on TV which only a small part of the community supported
#majin
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I am ejaculating.
BLACKHAWK
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im just waiting for the first BIG one to make the announcement and set this shiznit back on track.
he fights for us
12
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QUOTE:
This is a sad day for esports as a whole
my ass
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this is epic for the 1.6.. effin epic
14
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I feel sorry for the players, managers and people involved who got shocked by these news.

I hope that there is however a bright side to it which would mean an eventual return of many loved players and teams to come back and play Counter-Strike 1.6 the way they did prior to the CGS.

CGS didn't perhaps have the right format with the games and that, but they gave e-sports a good hand and I hope that the people involved will have successful futures despite these shocking news.
GotFrag 는 최고의 !
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sucks for the CGS true source players like n0it and devour, especially devour. the guy is sick, should play 1.6

pz lata source~~~
"And dont act like our internet doesnt have to be checked and processed through customs" - zenru
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::inserts e-care about e-league::
College > CS
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In on epic news
"I just sprayed all the time in Source – really all the time" -Marcus “zet” Sundstrom
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this is what you get when you play for the money!
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didn't see this coming.
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"they thought they were doing the right thing its a little too earlly for CGS in the gaming world and it's not ready."


best joke ever!!!!!!
What?


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ROFL i wonder what true original source players will do.... continue with cevo or try to switch to 1.6 and suck?
#anteup #reborn.cs (pwnsauce)

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I'm glad this league of unfair practices is dead. Instead of making it exciting, they made it one sided, and favored the same teams with the same players all the time. Its non-sense. This is not the NFL, not the NBA, mlb, not hockey. You can not expect people to like something especially when people get bored of it.

People don't get bored of the NFL, NBA, MLB, as fast as a video game. Come on think out side the box, no one died. Move a long.
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I'd like to see half these guys resume's, "played video games for 2 years".

I'm sure KFC would be only too happy to give you employment.
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why post CGS news when all it does it get people flaming it?

and ive seen several posts on the CGS on here, so.... yea
#majin
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Main reason it folded was probably the downfall of the American and Global Economy
30
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I guess you are right though, I mean why would gotfrag post something that will get 238948923894389 comments on and is one of the biggest news stories for gaming as a whole in the past ten years? They must know something we dont!
#majin
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ya know #29, im poor as hell and can barely even make it, money wise, right now and i live in an apartment. but the one thing that I need to have is cable. TV and internet. the people who watch the CGS on direct TV or whatever would still have direct TV. Most of the people are younger anyways. I doubt that the economy really had anything to do with this one
#majin
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Is that really Danny M posting?

If so...

Our readers never cared about CGS, you seem to forget, we DID cover it, and covered it better than even the CGS themselves during the first few pre-test events and the first season. We even streamed their US Finals broadcast on GotFrag TV, if you recall.

Sorry our readers did not sell out quite as fast as you mate, but do not point the finger back at us, it just makes you look silly.

This comment was edited at 11/18/2008 7:05 PM
http://www.myeg.net - GET SOME! - http://www.djWHEAT.tv - Live on Three!
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scoots killed fr0d with headshot from the truth
he fights for us
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hey! thats what i just said mr. scoots, except you said it a lot better and you are very credible
#majin
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Yea I never had an interest to watch CGS, or read about CGS. But soon as they had that stream of the 1.6 Pro-Am grand finals! I was all about that! 1.6 lives oN!

This comment was edited at 11/18/2008 7:06 PM
The only thing I smoke is mid. Counter-Strike, my anti-drug.
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Scoots just owned fRoD's life! DAYUM!
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#37 uhh he proved him wrong on a gotfrag news story, dont know about any life owning situations here lol
#majin

Well, the only thing I'm interested in is what Jason Lake will do now that he sold his firms.
there should be an age limit on stupidity
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garret is the man
Potti: Why are you trying to prep-talk me you idiot
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AND DONT TAKE MY DAYUM! (property of kEnkEn)
#majin
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LOL #33 can i call you god?
#anteup #reborn.cs (pwnsauce)
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Does this mean I get to see pistol rounds agaiN!
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#39, he was a successful lawyer, and managed to get his own firm in the first place

i doubt he will have any challenge in getting a steady well paying job
#majin
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Frod being ignorant :\

Anyway, sucks for everyone involved with the CGS. GL to everyone who lost there job.

... and clown would have been on a reality tv show! WHICH ONE!

This comment was edited at 11/18/2008 8:45 PM
I Started the FURY craze!
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#21, there is much more to that story on both sides... it was NEVER personal and was NEVER about the teams or players. Our entire staff has said they feel for you guys (players) most of all. We will be here to help move past this and into something we can sustain and something that helps progress eSports, not kill it.
Marc Turner | Editor in Chief | www.GotFrag.com | #gotfrag
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#21 why do you care about what gotfrag says. CGS made it quite clear they were going after the mainstream market not hardcore gamers who visit gotfrag.

i do have sympathy for the people who were involved but cgs did too many things wrong. It was never going to work.

This comment was edited at 11/18/2008 7:20 PM
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So none of the players were informed of this? I am surprised that there is no form of legal action the players can take due to this. I mean it is a massive layoff and I hope that the players get some sort of compensation if not the rest of their contracts paid in full.
yeash
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why do people seem to think that if the game played was 1.6 instead of source cgs would have been "better" to the general audience?

if someone thats never played cs / css before came across the cgs while clicking threw the stations they wouldnt give a sh|t if it was 1.6 or source. they would see a game with players yelling terrible trash talk at each other and bad effects. the games wouldn't have made a difrence.

for you tards out there that wanna reply "1.6 has more of a following therefor the players would watch it and rankings would go up" . the number of people that play 1.6 let alone would watch a tv show about it is not very large compared to people that dont play cs / css / any fps game.

also all the players that are bad at 1.6 (99% of gotfrag cs forum users) and going nowhere in real life nobody cares when you post source > 1.6.



edit.

to add to that why do people seem to be "excited" that some dudes are going to be playing the game that they do again? are you going to make friends because there playing 1.6 or are you going to get accepted into a good school because they are? no. your life wont be affected because of what there doing.

smoke a joint and go outside nigas my sh|ts startin to kick in. take it eazy stay breazy fly high

This comment was edited at 11/18/2008 7:35 PM
BLACKER THE BERRY SWEETER THE JUICE
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he should have interviewed some of the 1.6 players, obviously the source players are gonna be hurt about this, their game just died and most of them will be cal-m level at best in 1.6

#49 you're bitter because CGS killed competitive source stfv

This comment was edited at 11/18/2008 7:32 PM

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