Serdil “Rekttify” Kaya shares his opinion on the UK Circuit and the effect it’s having on UK CSGO.
The UK Circuit’s month-long pre-season has officially come to an end, and the first season is underway with added improvements.
This circuit is a collection of hubs on FACEIT that have been created to provide players in the UK and Irish scene an official competitive platform, where players of any skill can compete.
The first season has introduced of a subscription model – users must pay a subscription fee of £5 per month to access the UK Circuit’s hubs.
CSGO observer Connor “Sliggy” Blomfield explained: “Originally during our free month, the league grew really fast but the actual quality of the games took a hit. We were getting a growing number of complaints every day and actually less games being played the longer it went on.
“FACEIT offered us a self sustaining option to the platform where players of all ages and skills could play together in a competitive environment for prizes. The games would be of good quality and we could build a community from the ground upwards.”
The UK Circuit added in a statement: “Proceeds from the subscriptions will be re-invested directly back into the hubs to allow us to give players bigger and better prizes on a more frequent basis.”
With the introduction of bigger prizes, it should provide players with a good incentive to compete.
For those wanting to compete in the UK Circuit, you must be of UK and Irish residency – there are no age restrictions and players of any skill are welcome to play.
UK Circuit subscribers receive FACEIT anti-cheat, VoIP servers and the ability to play in a competition with admins. These new improvements have helped boost the platform’s popularity.
It's time for some stats! 📊📈
🎉We've seen an increase in the amount of games played since the sub model was introduced. 🎉
The highest number of matches played in 5 days:
December 2017: 517
January 2018: 784Keep up the good work guys! #UKCShttps://t.co/GYLl9Ph8sP pic.twitter.com/MNRpcSBPI1
— UK & Ireland Circuit (@UKICircuit) January 7, 2018
With the recent discontinuation of CSGO at the Gfinity Elite Series, there’s a space for other tournament providers to step in. And there’s still demand for CSGO in the UK, as clearly outlined above, but is it a declining esport?
The platform is continuously growing better than ever, but how much will it actually do for UK CSGO?
In my opinion this platform is great for the UKCS scene as it encourages competition with incentives such as skins, and a chance at qualifying for the FaceIT Pro League – where some top CSGO players compete.
In my eyes this will be a great way at increasing competition and introducing new talent to the scene, as more players of different skill and calibre join. It will help the UK CSGO scene become stronger.
Saying that, with a number of problems in the scene such as volatile rosters, it’s uncertain what the future holds for CSGO in the UK.
