The ESL ESEA Pro League features a total of 24 teams from Europe and North America. The teams are split up into two divisions of 12 teams each: Europe and North America.
Each division has its own round robin league and all teams will face each other twice. Matches will be played out in a Best-of-One format with maps pre-selected ahead of the match.
The top 4 teams from the European division and the top 4 teams from the North American division will qualify for the ESL ESEA Pro League finals.
Schedule
The ESL ESEA Pro League will kick off May 4th and will run for 8 weeks. Four matches from each division will be played on each matchday unless states otherwise:
- Week 1 (May 4th - May 10th) - Monday to Thursday
- Week 2 (May 11th - May 17th) - Monday to Wednesday
- Week 3 (May 18th - May 24th) - Monday to Thursday + Saturday and Sunday
- Week 4 (May 25th - May 31st) - Monday to Thursday + Saturday and Sunday
- Week 5 (June 1st - June 7th) - Monday to Wednesday
- Week 6 (June 8th - June 14th) - Monday to Thursday
- Week 7 (June 15th - June 21st) - Tuesday to Thursday + Saturday + Sunday(6 matches)
- Week 8 (June 22nd - June 28th) - Monday(6 matches)
For the European division, the starting times of the matches are as follows:
- Weekday - First match starts at 19:00 CEST
- Saturday/Sunday(4matches) - First match starts at 19:00 CEST
- Saturday/Sunday(6matches) - First match starts at 17:00 CEST
For the North American division, the starting times of the matches are as follows:
- Weekday - First match starts at 20:00 EDT
- Saturday/Sunday(4matches) - First match starts at 18:00 EDT
- Saturday/Sunday(6matches) - First match starts at 18:00 EDT
On the final matchday, Monday June 22nd, all matches will be played at the same time.
ESEA has also announced the teams for the Premier division. With a maximum of 12 teams possible in each region for the ESL ESEA Pro League, the ESEA Premier division gives an atmosphere that closely mimics the Pro League and gives teams on the bubble the opportunity to prove themselves. Teams competing for a chance to participate in the ESL ESEA Pro League will get their best chance by playing throughout the lower divisions (ESL Open, ESL Major, ESEA Open & Main, etc) and ultimately winning the ESEA Premier, the highest amateur division possible.
For the latest updates on the ESL ESEA Pro League be sure to follow @ESLCS and @ESEA on Twitter and Like the ESL Counter-Strike and ESEA pages on Facebook.
