The ESL Fractures the Relationship Between Pornography and Video Games
Major eSports league Electronic Sports League (ESL) has made the call to ban YouPorn’s pro team from any official events in the future. The decision was based on a new policy outlining the advertising of pornography.
The ESL provided a statement regarding this issue:
“Advertising pornography is not legal in the markets we operate in, and the vast majority of partners we’re working with have strict ‘no drugs, no alcohol, no pornography’ rules that we’ve contractually taken on board. These aren’t new rules, but ones that have been in our rulebooks for a long time.
“We have spoken to Team YP manager earlier this year and in that conversation we’ve explained the situation and rules in detail, and offered to look for potential alternatives in a bigger group. At the same time, we’re consulting with our legal teams about this. We will inform the team and the management as soon as we have any updates.”
YouPorn’s team changed their name and branding to Team YP in order to adhere to the rules and regulations of ESL, even adjusting their SEO tactics so when people search Team YP on Google it strays from the pornographic site. This was fine until recently where a new rule passed banning anything “widely known for pornographic … or other adult/mature themes and products.”
Team YP responded via Twitter to express their disappointment in the decision:
Thank you everyone for your support. Team YP will overcome these obstacles and usher in an age of equal opportunity in esports for all.
— Team YP (@TeamYPOfficial) April 23, 2016
Team YP covers a range of games like Mortal Kombat X, Ultimate Street Fighter IV, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Starcraft II and Evolve. Stay locked on COGConnected, we will provide more coverage on the outcome of this decision.