Since its founding in 2009, the @cslesportsgg has worked with 100,000+ college students, 2,000+ universities and given over $1 million in scholarships to students competing in esports.

A thread

1) I got a chance to talk with CSL founder, @FACEITDuran, about how it got started, moving on to his next challenge at @FACEIT, and his advice for those who want to build a career in esports.

2) Duran was a high-level StarCraft BroodWar player, even competing for the national team while still in high school. He took a break from the game though to focus on his grades which helped prompt his transition to organizing events.

3) The network he created as a player helped him gain the trust of the StarCraft community and as a result, the very first event he ran, “War of the States” ended up a success.

4) While attending UC San Diego, he realized there was a pretty large esports community and organized the UC Pro League in 2008-09ish, where students could compete school vs school. Eventually, this prompted him to found the CSL.

5) It wasn’t until 2011 that they were able to offer their very first prize pool of $1,000, but by then, they had over 300 universities registered and competing in StarCraft....

6) Looking back, Duran reflects on the significance of that, considering that each university had a team of at least 5 players… in 2011!

6) For periods of time, he served in every role, from organizing, to casting, to tournament admin, & even setting up broadcasts. He brought on volunteers whenever possible & then in 2015, he sold the CSL & was finally able to begin paying those putting in the work alongside him.

7) In 2020, he stepped away from CSL to take on new challenges at FACEIT. He describes the decision to move on as a difficult one. After all, he spent the past 10 years building it out.

8) He discusses this decision, his career path, and his advice for others who might want to build a career in esports in the latest episode of the @WorkInEsports Podcast.

Listen to the full episode on your favorite podcasting platform: https://bit.ly/2YDwDZ2