dupreeh criticized tournament organizers for the absence of medals for players - ESL and BLAST responded

Team Vitality player Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen shared his thoughts on trophies in CS:GO. The Danish esports athlete stated that championship cups are usually taken by organizations, but players would also like to have reminders of their tournament victories.

ESL's Response

Cynil, the Senior Product Manager at ESL, noted that their major tournaments still include medal awards, and they are considering expanding this option to less prestigious competitions.

We do medals at both Katowice and Cologne and majors. 

 Both 1st and 2nd place awarded on stage after the match and then 3rd, 4th are given behind the scenes. 

 Also discussing further on applying this across more of our tournaments.1856 718

Cynil, the Senior Product Manager at ESL

Rasmussen expressed his gratitude to ESL and acknowledged that awarding players with medals at smaller championships is a very positive development.

Keep that up! I think personally keeping it at the bigger tournaments is key. Other could be cool too!

  Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen  

READ MORE: Dupreeh: "My victories won't end with a fifth major"

BLAST's Response

Nicolas Estrup, the Creator & Chief Innovation Officer at BLAST, stated that since their medals were handcrafted, it became financially burdensome for them. In the correspondence with dupreeh, Estrup mentioned that BLAST plans to reintroduce medals for their tournaments.

For us it became bit of a cost consideration as the BLAST medals were hand made so quite expensive per medal, personal opinion would be that it has to be that to look/feel special enough.

Do agree, always love a good medal ceremony as part of a winning moment in the show.

Nicolas Estrup, the Creator & Chief Innovation Officer at BLAST

dupreeh persisted in his stance.

It’s also just a small wish in a big big world. Spreading my thoughts on a matter I believe a lot of my competitions share too! Everyone loves medals.

  Peter "dupreeh" Rasmussen  

However, Nicolas Estrup eventually gave in and promised to bring back medals for BLAST tournaments.

100% and agree, doesn't have to go overboard but something custom makes it feel more aligned with the event. We've definitely been exploring bringing back medals too for the same reason, love it too, so let's see!

Nicolas Estrup, the Creator & Chief Innovation Officer at BLAST

In the end, dupreeh suggested awarding players with medals at major championships and Majors since it is financially challenging for tournament organizing companies.

READ MORE: CS:GO Introduces Capsule with BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023 Champion Stickers

Earlier, dupreeh, along with Vitality, became the champion of BLAST.tv Paris Major 2023. For Rasmussen, this was his fifth Major victory, making him the only CS:GO esports player with such an achievement. More details can be found in the article.