Teams to vote on coaching rule for ESL One: Road to Rio

ESL has asked the teams who will take part in ESL One: Road to Rio about changes to the coaching eligibility rule.

In an email sent out by ESL and obtained by HLTV.org, teams have been given a 24-hour deadline to vote on the possibility of coaches being allowed in the server during the ESL One: Road to Rio tournament and talking to players "without restrictions".

This option will require the "unanimous approval of all participating teams" in the tournament. If at least one team votes against it, then coaches will not be allowed inside the game server and will not be able to speak to players during the matches.

The proposal came after Valve "reviewed additional feedback on the coaching rule", the email read. In August 2016, the game developer limited the impact of a coach to pre-game warmup, half-time breaks and tactical pauses, explaining that unrestricted access would make coaches "function as a sixth player, and not solely as a source of guidance or training." The rule initially applied only to Valve-sponsored events, but other tournament organisers quickly adopted it as well.

ESL One: Road to Rio will kick off on Wednesday in Europe and in the Americas, with the CIS tournament scheduled to start on April 30, while the Asian and the Oceanic divisions will begin only on May 6. It will be held online as a result of the coronavirus pandemic and will be the second tournament to award Regional Major Rankings (RMR) points towards the ESL One Rio Major.