The ESL, a big one Counter Strike Global Offensive Esports League announced all the changes it has made to its ruleset ahead of the upcoming IEM Cologne 2023 competition in Germany. And among the changes is a very important one: crocodiles are forbidden.
The ESL was founded in 2015 as the Electronic Sports League and has grown into one of the largest CS:GO
On the 20th of July ESL has announced over 50 new and changed rules take effect immediately, but it’s the Croc ban that stood out in clarifying open-toed shoes and foam clogs, aka Crocs. Numerous fans and players online on Twitter and Reddit joked about the Croc clarification, particularly evident in a tweak to rule 4.3 in the Events section General rule book of the ESL Pro Tour
- In “4.3 Clothing” it was clarified that crocodiles are considered open shoes and are therefore not allowed.
Other prohibited clothing items for ESL Pro events include shorts, flip flops and “any type of headgear”. If you decide to wear Crocs anyway, you could face a fine of at least $250. Apparently, ESL will provide “appropriate clothing” for people who don’t follow the rules, and the cost of these rule-legal items will be “deducted from the prize money” players may win. Oops!
Once again, the humble crocodile is treated like a problem and not given the respect it deserves. This little hero was a platformer master and a lovable reptile who… wait a minute, someone is telling me that this is actually about banning those ugly plastic shoes and has nothing to do with Fox Interactive’s hit 1997 platformer. Croc: Legend of the Gobbos. Honestly, this all makes a lot more sense now…
