(Los Angeles, CA) April 28, 2015 - ESL, the world’s largest esports company, and ESEA, the world's largest competitive Counter-Strike community, are set to host the biggest Counter-Strike: Global Offensive league in the game’s history. For 2015, the league has committed to paying out US$1,000,000 in prize money to the world’s best teams, in addition to full travel support for offline finals. The ESL ESEA Pro League will see prize money increase over the coming years as it strives to strengthen the competitive scene.
Starting May 4th, the new competitive esports league is the result of two esports giants looking to grow and sustain the global Counter-Strike scene. ESL, together with ESEA, bring almost thirty years of combined experience in high quality esports production and broadcasting to what will be the world’s most prestigious Counter-Strike league. ESL’s state-of-the-art esports arenas in both Cologne (Germany) and Los Angeles (US) will host the league’s four day offline season finals in 2015.
Multi-month Pro League seasons scheduled around Valve-supported majors aim to consolidate the Counter-Strike market by providing consistent high quality content to the global esports audience. Initially split across North America and Europe, Pro League will encompass one division per region, and will consist of twelve invited teams per division. Weekly matches will be held online, protected by ESEA's industry leading anti-cheat client, with an offline final where top teams from NA and EU meet for the global championship.
"ESL started out with Counter-Strike more than fifteen years ago. Now, many years later, we are extremely excited to be in a position where we can take the industry to the next level with the first regular US$500,000 Counter-Strike league together with ESEA" said Ralf Reichert, Managing Director of ESL.
"ESEA is where the pros play, it's been that way for more than a decade, and combining our league expertise, a million dollars, and ESL's exceptional production quality represents a major milestone for everyone who loves Counter-Strike," said Eric Thunberg, President & CEO of ESEA.
