Grim: “North America does much more for the pro scene than is commonly believed.”

During Twitch streams, viewers in the chat ask, “Why do esports players act this way or that way?” Often, pro players make decisions that seem optimal to them in the moment. However, sometimes they might miss information from teammates or fail to get the full picture of what’s happening on the map. During matches, it all comes down to the little things and, essentially, their level of understanding of the game.

I hope this region continues to thrive. North America does much more for the pro scene than is commonly believed. When I was just starting out, there was a reason to grind. Back then, players could launch their careers by competing in ESEA divisions, but now it’s much harder to break through. On top of that, during the pandemic, most of our Tier 2 scene shifted to Valorant—and North American CS still hasn’t recovered from that. The same teams often compete in regional tournaments: Team Voca, Marsborne, NRG, and M80.

There aren’t many tournaments in North America right now. We need more LAN events like the ones organized by fl0m and FRAG so that teams can earn more VRS points. Unless you’re NRG or M80, it’s hard to find the funds to attend European events—flights and accommodations are expensive. More LAN tournaments would boost the competitiveness of our scene and help local teams perform better at Tier 1 championships.