FACEIT issues statement on B Site involvement, reveals Global LAN Qualifier dates

FACEIT has revealed that it will take "a step back" to put the focus on teams, players and talent of the upcoming B Site league, and announced the dates for the Global LAN Qualifier.

In the statement, FACEIT notes that, despite ECS being the "first esports league providing co-ownership and revenue share", the project "didn’t go far enough in providing a path to sustainability for Teams and Players suitable for today’s ecosystem".

In B Site, FACEIT will take the position of "league operator and content producer", while teams will take the central stage. The company also points out that it has always been focused on providing "a path to pro", adding that B Site will be "open, inclusive and provide special support to grassroots talent".

Even though it was not confirmed in this statement, in one of his recent videos on the topic, B Site Creative Director Duncan "⁠Thorin⁠" Shields revealed that FACEIT owns a minority share in the league of 0.5%, which will be increased to 5.5% if the company remains the tournament operator for the next three years.

Read more: What we know (and think we know) about ESL Pro League and B Site

Meanwhile, FACEIT has revealed the dates for the Global LAN Qualifier, which will take place from 3-5 March at the company's Los Angeles studio. The tournament will clash with the closed qualifiers for the Minors in the CIS and South America,

The qualifying process for B Site will have $100,000 on offer, with orgless teams who manage to qualify being offered a $25,000 monthly stipend for the duration of the season. Find out more about the qualifiers in our announcement post.

You can read FACEIT's statement below:

FACEIT's position...

In 2016 ECS was established to create a more inclusive structure and aiming at long term sustainability by being the first esports league providing co-ownership and revenue share to teams and players participating. This was a first for CSGO and we believed it was an invaluable move for helping the ecosystem to grow and evolved to the new heights we reached today.

As much as ECS gave us 4 years of great CS:GO and entertainment, our solution didn’t go far enough in providing a path to sustainability for Teams and Players suitable for today’s ecosystem. Teams and players need to have a more central position and be provided with stronger financial benefits to make the scene sustainable.

A few months ago a concept for a new CSGO league that would be fully owned and backed by certain teams was presented to us and we were given the opportunity to partner and support the project. FACEIT will take a position of league operator and content producer while teams, players and talent will take the central stage to build a unique show and a new business venture. We felt this was a necessary step towards sustaining the ecosystem.

The current status of the CSGO ecosystem...

CSGO is at a critical point. We don’t believe any tournament organiser should have a monopoly and in the long term by allowing this, the overall ecosystem would be compromised.

We are focused on helping the CSGO ecosystem grow rather than keeping any direct control and this is why we have been able to work closely with many other organizations and organisers that access our platform to create and provide the community with thousands of new competitions to play every month.

FACEIT’s core values & B-Site...

CSGO has been at the core of FACEIT since the platform first began. Working closely with the community, players and talent has been important for the company, it’s how the platform was built and we wouldn’t be here now if we didn’t have their support.

We have always focused on providing a path to pro and this is why B-Site will be an open league. We partnered with teams because the league aligns with our core values. It will be open, inclusive and provide a special support to grassroots talent. B-Site will provide open slots so up and coming teams can be part of the league. In addition the league will offer a series of financial benefits including a stipend of $5k a month for qualified players.

We believe B-Site will help to create a healthy and sustainable ecosystem and ultimately FACEIT will take a step back to ensure teams, players and talent are the focus."