bsl steps down as ESL Tournament Director

The Norwegian former 1.6-player Jonas "⁠bsl⁠" Alsaker Vikan has announced that he is leaving ESL after nearly a year as Tournament Director.

The 36-year old spent the last 11 months in the position, in which he was 'in charge of the execution of all ESL high-profile competitions, including ESL Pro League, ESL One and IEM tournaments.'

In a medium post, he revealed that he has stepped down from the position and will also pull out of esports entirely, at least 'for right now.'

bsl started his professional 1.6-career playing for the recently revived Brazilian team MIBR, and later went on to found the legendary European NoA organisation. He also co-hosted the first CS:GO Major, DreamHack Winter 2013, alongside Scott "⁠SirScoots⁠" Smith.

In a medium post, the Norwegian mentioned being away from his children as a factor in his decision to step down:

During the last 11 months, I have spent 138 days on the road. I supervised 11 pro level competitions in that period, in Germany, US (New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Dallas), Denmark, Malaysia, South Korea, Poland, Australia and Brazil.

To do all this meant spending 4,5 months away from my two kids (aged 3 and 5 years). This works for some, but it doesn't work for me.

A friend who has supported my every esport endeavor over nearly 20 years asked me if I am now finally done with esports. My answer was I think that's not possible, its fabric is too closely weaved with who I am. It has given me everything. But for right now, I need to step down.

ESL have announced that Alexander Nehr, formerly in charge of Product & Player Management at the company, will take over as Tournament Director.