(Cologne, Germany) 23 January, 2015 – ESL, the world’s largest esports company, is set to once again gather the best Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams from around the world, this time for ESL One Katowice 2015. The event, sponsored by top gaming industry leaders Intel and BenQ, marks the return of ESL One to Spodek Arena, where last year ESL hosted the first ever Counter-Strike: Global Offensive stadium event. The announcement comes off the back of ESL’s two US$250,000 community-funded Counter-Strike tournaments in 2014, which saw viewership records shattered on both occasions.

As part of the Intel® ESL Expo, ESL One Katowice 2015 is to be significantly larger than in the previous year. Having expanded into the hall next door, esports competition will be spread across the 8,000m2 exhibition center for the first three days. The Counter-Strike finals are set to take place on the main stage in Spodek Arena in front of a total of over 12,500 spectators. 

“When we took ESL One to Katowice last year, we saw some absolutely fantastic games and experienced a great atmosphere. – Particularly when Virtus.pro, a Polish team, were crowned champions in front of their home crowd,” said Ulrich Schulze, Managing Director of Pro Gaming at ESL. “Since then CS:GO has made incredible progress and we are honoured to once again have been given the opportunity to host a CS:GO Major with a US$250,000 prize purse. The chance to host it in an arena as memorable as Spodek is an added bonus.”

A total of sixteen teams will battle for US$250,000 in winnings come March 12-15: eight of the sixteen finalists have earned their spot as ‘legends’ based on past performance with a further eight ‘challengers’ yet to battle through a combination of online and offline qualifiers. Unlike previous ESL One events, the final stage of these ‘challenger’ qualifiers will take place offline in Katowice on February 14th 15th.

To attend ESL One Katowice 2015 on Thursday you will have to either be in possession of a Intel ESL Opening Day pass or a Premium pass. You can purchase your pass on our ticket page. Entry on Friday, Saturday and Sunday is free but you can purchase an early entrance pass to skip the lines.

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ESL – is world's largest, independent eSports brand, leading the industry across various games with numerous online and offline competitions. This includes high profile international and national leagues and tournaments such as the Intel® Extreme Masters, ESL One, ESL Pro Series, Starcraft® II World Championship Series, as well as grassroots amateur cups, leagues and matchmaking systems. ESL covers a broad field of services in gaming technology, event management, advertising and TV production, fully catering to the needs of the eSport’s ecosystem. With offices in Germany, Russia, France, Poland, Spain, China and North America, it has a true global footprint. www.eslgaming.com

ESL One - In ESL One, teams and players from all over the world compete in an eSports tournament unlike any other. Featuring the games Dota 2, Counter-Strike Global Offensive and Battlefield 4, ESL One gives out hundreds of thousands in prize money every year. With events taking place in sports stadiums all over the world, it puts the players in front of enthusiastic audiences, cheering them on in their attempt to secure the one trophy and the glory that comes with it. www.esl-one.com