Introducing the brand-new British Counter-Strike Association (BCSA)

Introducing the brand-new British Counter-Strike Association (BCSA)

25 January 2023

We always love to discover and bring you new and exciting developments in the world of esports in the UK, and fortunately, there are a lot of them. Just last week, we presented the British Basketball Federation’s roster for its participation in the first-ever eFIBA Open and the week before that, we wrote a piece on the new Welsh Esports League by Esports Wales, just to name a few examples. The recent launch of the brand-new British Counter-Strike Association (BCSA) fits that series of developments perfectly, as it aims to nurture all tiers of UK-based CS:GO competition. So, what is the BCSA and how are they going to add value to the existing Counter-Strike scene in the UK?

Mainly supporting role

The main goal of the British Counter-Strike Association, who announced their official launch on Tuesday January 24th, is to offer support and resources to Counter-Strike teams and players in the United Kingdom. As the name of the organisation itself reveals already, contrary to existing esports bodies like the British Esports Federation and the Esports Integrity Commission, the BCSA will focus exclusively on Counter-Strike in the UK. In that sense, it’s much more similar to the Counter-Strike Professional Players’ Association (CSPPA), which functions as a representative of professional CS:GO player worldwide.

“The British Counter-Strike Association (BCSA) aims to nurture all tiers of UK-based competition, whilst instilling individuals with the qualities required to thrive at a professional level”, the BCSA announced on her own Twitter account, “Across every facet, our scene is brimming with passionate people. By encouraging collaboration, constructive feedback, and professionalism, we will strive towards British Counter-Strike becoming an increasingly vibrant and competitive environment. At the current time, we have no plans to represent teams or players in an official capacity. Our goal is simply to open up communication channels and provide the board’s expertise to all relevant parties”.

Experienced founders

The objectives revealed by the BCSA in their launch statement seem very much in line with the qualities of the team behind the organisation. The British Counter-Strike Association was founded by four people with ample experience in competitive esports and CS:GO in different capacities.

  • Allan “Allan” Hender is currently active as a broadcast analyst and caster, but over the years, he made his name as a successful professional CS:GO coach. He has been with Endpoint since mid-2021 and led them to victory at the ESL Premiership Spring 2022 a few months ago.
  • William “mezii” Merriman is a British professional CS:GO player who is currently under contract with Fnatic. He has been with the London-based organisation since August 2021 and won several events since then, including the Elisa Masters Espoo 2022 and the DreamHack Open November 2021.
  • Max “MiGHTYMAX” Heath is a British professional CS:GO player who is active for Endpoint as both in-game leader and supportive rifler. With Endpoint, he won the ESL Premiership Spring 2020 and ESEA Season 35: Premier Division Europe, amongst others.

 

Ashley “ashhh” Battye is a British former CS:GO pro and currently the coach of Team GamerLegion. Under his leadership, GamerLegion grabbed second place at Exeedme Revolution in May 2021.
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