Enemy Down have announced a mammoth 5000 Euro online tournament for Counter-Strike: Source called Eurokrieg, set to be one of the premier online events of the Summer.

The tournament format will include eight groups, with each group being made up exclusively of teams in a certain region. The regions are as follow;

GROUP 1 - Finland & Sweden
GROUP 2 - Norway & Denmark
GROUP 3 - France
GROUP 4 - Germany
GROUP 5 - Belgium & Netherlands
GROUP 6 - Eastern Europe & Italy
GROUP 7 - Spain & Portugal
GROUP 8 - United Kingdom

More details will be released on Monday the 14th of July, but Cadred has secured an exclusive interview with Peter "Icarus" Simpson, Assistant Operations Manager at TNWA.

What thoughts went into the decision to create a league like this?

After the success of the Spring Invite event we took a look at what we would like to improve moving forward. We originally had to decline a lot of teams as the event was invitation only and so many teams thought they had what it took and begged us for a slot. So we decided to expand the group stages to cater for more teams. The natural progression was to build the group stages around the countries so the top two teams from each group could represent their area. We also wanted to support the online CSS scene by providing an event where the top teams of the scene can play to crown one team the best in Europe and play each event to hold their title. We also wanted to support the up and coming CSS teams out there so they can showcase some fresh talent and give them somewhere that they can go head to head with the high end players and hopefully cause the odd upset.

Where did the name "Eurokrieg" come from?

We wanted a name that represented a battle to crown one team the best in Europe. Most of the other events out there used such boring names that had little thought and where just copies of the football cups. Eurokrieg (Euro War) was batted around many emails among a lot of other names before we settled upon it.

With the prize starting out at a large 5000 euros are there any plans for future increase?

We wanted to make sure that the prize pool reflected the skill level of the teams in the event there have been so many tournaments over the last years online that didn’t really live up to “pro status” of which most of the teams really deserve. A lot of teams in the CSS scene have really developed in professionalism and therefore the scene needs to develop with them. As long as we are running Eurokrieg events you can guarantee that the prize pot will reflect not only the skill of the teams out there but the scene as a whole.

Will "Eurokreig" remain a Counter-Strike: Source exclusive?

We were hoping to include Call of duty 4 in the first Eurokrieg event but certain updates to the game caused a few problems to the scene as a whole. Now those are fixed we will certainly be looking to include this game in the next season.

What lessons have you learned from the Enemy Down Spring Invite?

Looking back the only problems we had was getting the games played on time we understand that teams will always need to reschedule games but in order for a smooth event to run we have to come to a happy medium. We will be sending out a clear rule sheet to teams when we go out to invite for the event which will be July 21st. Having players submit personal demos for every game will be a new introduction basically to make sure we get some nice footage. Also the rule around bunny hopping will also be opened up.

Do you think ED has shaken off the stigma it once had with the top teams?

I think in all honesty Enemy down has always catered for all skill levels of teams and in doing so has not focused its historical events just on the top end of the game. Many of the events on Enemy Down have provided prizes for even the lowest skill bracket. It is only now that we have the backing and resources to cater for the top teams. I can put my hand on my heart and say that the spring invite event had the biggest collection of top teams in any EU event for a long time so I’ll let that and Eurokrieg do the talking.

How will you handle the mixture of top teams and lower teams in some of the groups?

We will be inviting all the teams in the event and keeping a close eye on the scene over the next weeks to make sure we don’t miss any new talent. We don’t expect massive upsets from unknown players, It would be all too easy to just run a cup for the top 16 teams. I think CSS gamers will recognize the need for an event where up and coming talent gets a chance against a seeded team online. It’s very difficult for new teams with no support to prove themselves at a LAN with no financial backing we hope that this event gives them the opportunity to display their skills and professionalism. As for making sure the new teams don’t have too much fun our admin team will be seeding the event alongside some other well known eSports faces to make sure we get the mix just right.

Will you be aiming to include CGS teams?

We will be going out to some of the CGS teams as we did with the spring invite

Quite a few players, mainly in the UK scene are banned from Enemy Down for past infractions, for example Wez from the Birmingham Salvo, will they be unbanned for this tournament?

Players that have been banned for hacking by Enemy Down will not be allowed to compete in the event. We always have an open door policy to review bans. Players that were banned for racism and abuse we take very seriously also. This event is about encouraging professionalism in the field and celebrating the Esports scene without the bullshit that drags the game down. On the subject of Wez I believe he banned by another site and game type and mirrored by us. If there are any changes they would be made public closer to the event launch.

Thanks for your time.