ESL One Cologne, the world's biggest CS:GO tournament, returns to LANXESS Arena on July 7-9 with top teams from around the world competing for a US$250,000 prize pool and the ability to lift the coveted ESL One trophy in front of thousands of passionate fans. 16 teams in total will join the battle in Cologne, 12 directly invited and 4 from qualifiers.
The European closed qualifier will feature 12 teams:
- 8 teams directly invited
- The winner of ESL Meisterschaft
- Winner of open qualifier one and two winners of open qualifier two
The second open qualifier will have two winners who will secure a slot in the closed qualifier due to an invited team resigning from their participation.
The closed qualifier matches will be best of three, played in a single elimination bracket. Two of the top invited teams will advance directly into the qualifier quarterfinals.
Schedule
Saturday, May 20th at 15:00 CEST
- Round of 12
Sunday, May 21st
- 12:00 CEST - quarterfinal one and two
- 15:00 CEST - quarterfinal three and four
- 18:00 CEST - semifinal one
- 21:00 CEST - semifinal two
The winners of each semifinal qualify for ESL One Cologne 2017.
The closed qualifier matches will be livestreamed over on our Twitch channel so be sure not to miss them!
Open qualifiers
The 8 teams directly invited to the closed qualifier have already received their invitations, meaning all other teams are required to sign up for the open qualifiers if they wish to compete.
The EU open qualifier dates and signup links are as follows:
- Open Qualifier #1: 22nd and 23rd of April - Start time: 18:00 CEST
- Open Qualifier #2: 28th and 29th of April - Start time: 19:00 CEST
Good luck and see you in Cologne!
We wish all of the participating teams the best of luck and look forward to see who will be joining FNATIC, NiP, FaZe, Virtus.pro, SK Gaming, Natus Vincere and other teams in Cologne! Tickets to event are available so be sure to join us in this massive celebration of esports and world class CS:GO.
For all the latest updates about the event, remember to follow ESL CS on Twitter and Facebook.