The end of an era: ESL Americas Open

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The ESL Americas Open has been officially discontinued.

The tournament, which occurred every Sunday at 6pm EST with a $50 winner-takes-all prize pool, was on it's 120th week. I had been casting it since #83. When I first got the opportunity, I was humbled to be carrying the torch.

I haven't seen anyone else post about this, and I feel like those of you who enjoyed ending your weekend on this note deserved some sort of explanation. To be honest, I know very little about this decision, but I feel SOMETHING needs to be said.

This afternoon, I was told ESL had decided that they are disbanding the ESL NA SC2 Admin Squad and not running anymore cups, including the Americas Open. This came as a shock to everyone, and the people running the group stated they had no say in the matter.

There was much speculation as to what caused this: poor viewership, wanting to focus on Go4SC2 (the EU counterpart), lack of money; someone even thought BaseTrade might be behind it (I'm fairly certain they had nothing to do with it). Unfortunately, the best answer we got about ESL was "they said they don't have to tell us".

Don't despair, though! At least two different groups have expressed interest in keeping this tournament going. Don't be surprised if you see it revived under a different banner within the month. Based on viewership and participation and the amount of casters wanting to cast this event each and every week, it is clear the community enjoys this event and wants it to continue.

I, for one, am certain it shall. With any luck, I'll be able to continue casting it, as well. Whatever the outcome, I'll be sure to keep you guys posted.

Until then, I encourage you guys to check out all of the casting content this community has to offer. The following are just a few of the best:
https://www.twitch.tv/proxy_tempest
https://www.twitch.tv/GauntletSC2
https://www.twitch.tv/thenydus
https://www.twitch.tv/feardragon64
https://www.twitch.tv/DraTV (often casted the AmOpen)

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