Professional Esports Association
The initialism P E A in black capital letters, surrounded by a black rectangle, slanted to the right and with a slight split horizontally down the middle
GameEsports
FoundedSeptember 2016 (2016-09)
CommissionerJason Katz (2016–2017)
No. of teams9
ContinentNorth America
Official websitewww.proesports.org (archived)

Professional Esports Association (PEA) is an American association of nine North American esports organizations. It was founded in 2016 as a member-owned esports league by seven American esports teams. Jason Katz was the league's commissioner from its founding until his departure in February 2017.

The association was created with the aim of having a "stable, healthy, long-term environment for the players".[1] It planned to institute an equal profit sharing system between players and owners, instead of relying on the traditional prize pool system. The PEA's first planned competition was a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) league, which was scheduled to begin in January 2017 with a minimum $1 million prize pool.

In December 2016, a decision by the PEA to disallow players from competing in the ESL Pro League was met with opposition from players, leading them to issue an open letter protesting the decision. In response to the letter, the PEA held a vote on the issue, which ended with players voting to play in the ESL Pro League. As a result, the association suspended its plans for a CS:GO league, four months after its inception. In May 2017, the PEA announced that it would be shifting its focus from hosting esports leagues to "[contributing] towards a productive and profitable North American esports ecosystem".[2]

History

The initialism P E A in red stylized capital letters. Beneath it, the words PROFESSIONAL ESPORTS ASSOCIATION in black capital letters.
PEA Logo at launch

The Professional Esports Association was founded in September 2016, with Team SoloMid (TSM), Cloud9, Team Liquid, Counter Logic Gaming, Immortals, NRG Esports, and compLexity Gaming as founding members.[3][4] The announcement followed the founding of the World Esports Association (WESA), which included many European esports teams, by ESL.[3] In its founding announcement, the PEA described itself as an "Owner-Operated league aiming to be the NBA of eSport" by instituting an equal 50-percent profit share between owners and players, while also providing insurance and retirement benefits for players.[5] It also promised players "a strong voice in every major league decision", through player representation in a Rules and a Grievances Committee.[6] The league's founding commissioner was Jason Katz, who was previously the COO of Azubu, an esports streaming website.[7] Katz also served as the vice president of global marketing for the Championship Gaming Series, a televised esports league that folded in 2008.[8][9][10]

The PEA's first planned competition was a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) league, originally scheduled to begin in January 2017 with a minimum $1 million prize pool in its first year.[1][11] The inaugural season was to be held over ten weeks, with two matches per week and a $500,000 prize pool.[5][11]

Player open letter

In December 2016, shortly after the league's inception, 25 of its 35 member players signed an open letter expressing frustration towards the league ownership's lack of communication and its decision to disallow PEA players from competing in the ESL Pro League.[12][13] According to the letter written by player representative Scott "SirScoots" Smith, the players were told that the owners had the contractual right to determine where they play, which "came as a shock", given previous indications by the league and its owners granting that decision to the players.[12] The letter also alleged that players were being disenfranchised by the ownership, as players were only allotted three of seven votes on the PEA Rules Committee, while the rest belonged to the team owners and the league itself.[12] According to Smith, the players were told by league commissioner Jason Katz that the uneven structure was designed to avoid stalemates, and that the two votes belonging to the PEA should be considered "unbiased".[12]

Firing of sgares

After the letter's release, TSM player Sean "sgares" Gares published a conversation between him and TSM owner Andy Dinh in which Dinh expressed his intention to replace Gares over his lack of communication with Dinh before the letter was published.[14][15][16] In a subsequent statement, Dinh accused Gares of "mis[leading] and manipulat[ing]" other TSM players into signing a letter they "had not read and did not understand".[14][17] Gares denied the accusations of manipulation, saying he spoke with Dinh about the players' concerns before the letter's publication.[15][16] The other four players on TSM also denied being manipulated by Gares,[17][18] saying in a statement that "some of us may have had more information than others or been more involved in this endeavor, but we all understood what we were doing when we gave the okay to put our names on the letter".[16] TSM's CS:GO roster ultimately disbanded in January 2017, with the organization citing its deteriorating relationship with its remaining players and the latter's desire to continue playing with Gares.[19][20] A day after the split, Gares and the rest of the former TSM CS:GO roster were signed by Misfits Gaming.[19]

PEA response

The PEA responded with its own letter, stating that while it was not an exclusive league, it disputed the financial viability of players participating in both leagues due to the PEA's revenue-sharing model and "issues with over-saturation".[16][21][22] According to the association, it had attempted a deal with WESA to resolve the oversaturation issue, but was declined.[15] WESA in turn said it had "politely declined" an offer from the PEA that amounted to "terminating the [North American] division of the ESL Pro League".[15][21]

The letter also reaffirmed the league's "contractual right to decide where their players compete"[22] but offered to arrange a meeting for players to decide whether to compete in the ESL Pro League or the PEA league in the upcoming season.[16]

League suspension and subsequent activities

In January 2017, PEA member players voted to compete in the ESL Pro League rather than the upcoming inaugural PEA season.[13] This prompted the PEA to suspend its CS:GO league, with the organization also citing "[in]sufficient financial support in the ecosystem, ... to profitably operate a third prominent online league, due to the oversaturation of the marketplace and the recent upward spiral in operating costs".[23][24][25] On February 17, 2017, the PEA announced Katz's departure from his position as part of a "reorganisation of its management structure", in which its Board of Governors would take over management duties in the interim.[9][26]

After suspending its CS:GO league, the PEA added Team Dignitas and Misfits Gaming to its membership in May 2017.[27] It also announced its intention to change its focus from operating esports leagues to "[contributing] towards a productive and profitable North American esports ecosystem".[2] The PEA was reportedly still active in early 2018;[28] in an interview, PEA spokesperson and NRG Esports co-owner Andy Miller stated that the group was still active behind-the-scenes and "focusing on bringing our marketing and fanbase, which is mainly North American, to brands and publishers".[29] Miller also said that while the PEA no longer had any plans to launch their own esports league, they were in discussions with "a number of publishers about helping them launch their esports leagues".[29]

Membership

As of July 2019, the association had nine member organizations.[30]

References

  1. 1 2 Vincent, Brittany. "The Professional esports Association officially launches in 2017". Engadget. Archived from the original on September 11, 2016. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  2. 1 2 "PEA Welcomes Team Dignitas and Misfits, Refocuses on Player Welfare". The Esports Observer. May 26, 2017. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  3. 1 2 Campbell, Colin (September 8, 2016). "New CS:GO league will offer share of profits plus benefits to players". Polygon. Archived from the original on January 1, 2022. Retrieved January 1, 2022.
  4. ↑ Cocke, Taylor (September 8, 2016). "North American esports orgs form PEA, a new team-owned esports league". Yahoo Sports. Archived from the original on September 21, 2016. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  5. 1 2 Cortez, Doug (September 8, 2016). "Professional esports Association unveiled, announces CS:GO league". ESPN. Archived from the original on September 11, 2016. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  6. ↑ "Owner-operated PEA wants to improve player pay in esports". mashable.com. September 8, 2016. Archived from the original on September 9, 2016. Retrieved September 11, 2016.
  7. ↑ Cooke, Sam (September 9, 2016). "The Professional eSports Association promises fair pay for players". Esportsinsider. Archived from the original on January 3, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  8. ↑ "Championship Gaming Series Announces All-Star Executive Team". GamesIndustry.biz. January 16, 2008. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  9. 1 2 Leslie, Callum (February 18, 2017). "Controversial commissioner Jason Katz leaves the PEA". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on January 13, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  10. ↑ Witkowski, Emma; Manning, James (November 18, 2018). "Player power: Networked careers in esports and high-performance game livestreaming practices". Convergence: The International Journal of Research into New Media Technologies. 25 (5–6): 953–969. doi:10.1177/1354856518809667. ISSN 1354-8565. S2CID 150333431. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2022 – via SAGE Publishing.
  11. 1 2 Sen, Dylan (September 8, 2016). "Professional eSports Association is Established". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on January 8, 2022. Retrieved January 8, 2022.
  12. 1 2 3 4 Hall, Charlie (December 22, 2016). "Pro CS:GO players issue open letter, challenge integrity of their ownership". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  13. 1 2 Beck, Kellen (January 6, 2017). "Professional Esports Association suspends its 'CS:GO' league". Mashable. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved December 30, 2021.
  14. 1 2 Nordmark, Sam (December 23, 2016). "Seangares cut from TSM's CS:GO team for apparently "misleading" and "manipulating" his fellow players". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Wolf, Jacob (December 23, 2016). "PEA: 'We're going to give this decision to [the players]'". ESPN. Archived from the original on January 2, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  16. 1 2 3 4 5 Beck, Kellen (December 24, 2016). "'CS:GO' pro kicked off team after complaining about players' rights". Mashable. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  17. 1 2 Kozanitis, James (December 23, 2016). "TSM Founder Says Sean Gares Manipulated His Players - His Players Disagree". GameRevolution. Archived from the original on January 2, 2022. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
  18. ↑ Mitchell, Ferguson (December 23, 2016). "Team SoloMid Fractures Over PEA Debate, TSM Owner Dinh Fires Player, Team Reacts". The Esports Observer. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  19. 1 2 Wolf, Jacob (January 14, 2017). "Misfits sign ex-TSM CS:GO team". ESPN. Archived from the original on January 3, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  20. ↑ "TSM CSGO Announcement". Team SoloMid. January 13, 2017. Archived from the original on December 24, 2021. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  21. 1 2 Leslie, Callum (December 23, 2016). "Immortals owner claims PEA league never planned to be exclusive in open letter response". Dot Esports. Archived from the original on January 5, 2022. Retrieved January 5, 2022.
  22. 1 2 Whinston, Noah (December 23, 2016). "An Open Letter to SirScoots, the Counter-Strike Players Contracted to PEA Organizations, and the…". Medium. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  23. ↑ Beck, Kellen (January 5, 2017). "'CS:GO' players vote to ditch Professional Esports Association's first season". Mashable. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  24. ↑ Robichaud, Andrew (January 6, 2017). "PEA suspends plans for CS:GO league in 2017". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  25. ↑ Hall, Charlie (January 6, 2017). "CS:GO league suspended after player revolt". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  26. ↑ Bishop, Sam (February 20, 2017). "Jason Katz parts ways with Professional Esports Organisation". Gamereactor UK. Archived from the original on January 3, 2022. Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  27. ↑ "Team Dignitas, Misfits join Professional Esports Association". ESPN.com. May 25, 2017. Archived from the original on December 31, 2021. Retrieved December 31, 2021.
  28. ↑ "PEA Spokesperson Says Org Is Still Active In Esports, No Current Plans For A CS:GO League". Chat Esports. SportsGrid. February 27, 2018. Archived from the original on January 10, 2022. Retrieved January 10, 2022.
  29. 1 2 Te, Zorine (February 27, 2018). What happened to PEA's CS:GO League?. Esports Network (SportsGrid). Event occurs at 5:15. Archived from the original on January 10, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2022 – via YouTube.
  30. ↑ "Professional Esports Association". Archived from the original on July 3, 2019.
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