The announcement of a new esports tournament with a prize pool of $1.3 million instantly caught the attention of the Counter-Strike community. The event, titled Global Domination: Invasion, is reportedly set to conclude with a LAN final in Oklahoma and promises to attract both professionals and newcomers. However, the more details that emerge, the more questions arise about this grand event.

Who are UGC and GDE

Ultimate Gaming Championships (UGC), one of the companies behind the tournament, does have experience in esports: it was founded in 2004 and has previously hosted events for Halo, Rocket League, and Fortnite. However, it has been inactive for the past six years. UGC's social media has been dormant: Twitch hasn't been updated for two years, YouTube for seven, and X/Twitter was virtually inactive until the end of 2023.

The second participant in the project, Global Domination Entertainment LLC (GDE), appears even less convincing. The company was only registered in February 2025, with the listed address being a residential home in Florida and a P.O. box in Tulsa, Oklahoma. This all creates the image of a startup without real experience in organizing major tournaments.

What to expect from the tournament

According to information on the official website, Global Domination: Invasion includes qualifiers starting on June 17, with the LAN final scheduled to take place from August 29 to 31 at the Paycom Center—an 18,000-seat arena where the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team usually plays. The tournament promises to distribute $1,000,000 among the final participants and another $300,000 within the qualifying series.

Interestingly, the event is listed on the Paycom Center's event calendar, which might indicate at least partial contact with the arena. AMD is also listed as a sponsor, and indeed, AMD Gaming X posted confirming their involvement.

The organizers claim the tournament is open to amateur players, with rankings to be determined based on Steam statistics. Additionally, there are plans to form teams from "solo players"—which raises serious doubts given the scale of the tournament and the standards of the professional CS scene, especially concerning VRS compliance.

Amid the stagnation of the North American CS scene and waning interest from Valve and major organizers, any large tournament is seen as a breath of fresh air. But for now, Global Domination: Invasion seems more like a "smoke and mirrors" act than a well-thought-out project.