The Electronic Sports League have released their ruling for team eligibility requirements for future tournaments.
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The ruling dictates that each organization may only submit a single esports team to represent them at any official ESL competition. Teams under contract with the same entity will not be allowed to compete unless written confirmation is submitted that shows an intent for the team to break off from their organization in a maximum of four weeks ahead of the tournament.
The official statement reads as follows:
"...Therefore it is not allowed that an organization's academy team will participate in an ESL tournament or qualifier if...
a) Another team of the organization has been invited to the main event.
b) Another team of the organization has been invited to the closed qualifier.
c) Another team of the organization has signed up for the same qualifier."
Though unfortunate news for teams already planning to compete under the same entity, the ruling does at least partially eliminate the possibility of collusion between opposing teams. Critics have already pointed out, however, that those really seeking to undermine the regulation will simply compete in 'ghost teams' founded by the same organization under a different title.
Others have pointed out that the regulation applies only to small organizations and not major corporations, though the World eSports Association (WESA) has announced previous regulations to counter this. According to WESA's ruling, "...no team is permitted to be completely or partially owned or controlled by a person or entity that owns or controls another esports team or organization participating at WESA sanctioned events." Teams seeking to compete therefore will have 18 months to come to compliance with the new ruling.
For more information, check out ESL's official post on the matter.
