Andreas “Xyp9x” Højsleth was elected as Chairman of the Counter-Strike Professional Players’ Association (CSPPA) by the seven members of the board. The CSPPA voting session aimed to add a clearer structure to the organization and additionally settled on a Vice-Chairman, a CEO and a COO to drive the project forward.
Who’s in the CSPPA board
The seven members of the board are all current or former players. These names include Jonathan “EliGE” Jablonowski, Chris “chrisJ” de Jong, Nathan “NBK” Schmitt, Tarik “tarik” Celik, Epitacio “TACO” de Melo, Jordan “n0thing” Gilbert and Xyp9x himself. The Astralis player is widely respected in the Counter-Strike community, so it doesn’t come as a massive shock that Xyp9x was the one to be chosen by his peers to head the Player Association.
Team Liquid’s EliGE also finds himself in a new, more reputable role of Vice-Chairman. The American has built up a great rapport as a player, and it seems like his competences extend outside the server as much as to be picked ahead of fellow Americans tarik and n0thing.
Who else will represent the CSPPA
The appointments didn’t end there. Though more symbolic as he was already acting chief executive officer (CEO), Mads Øland was confirmed as the new full-time CEO of the CSPPA. He had previously held the position on a part-time, voluntary basis. Øland brings much-needed experience to the organization, having represented the Danish Football Players’ Association as Director for 23 years.
The final employment to be decided upon in this board vote was that of Michael Døi, who will act as Chief Operating Officer (COO). Just like Øland, he was already working with the organization, but now his role is truly defined. Another Dane, he’s a part-time legal advisor for the Danish Elite Athletes’ Association, a position he will retain in addition to his commitments to the CSPPA.
The Players Association was founded in 2018 to provide professional players proper representation on matters like team contracts, working conditions, tournament accommodations etc. With most players entering the pro scene at a young age, such an organization was of desperate need and hopefully, the decisions made this week will help the player-team-organizer dynamic improve further.
