One tour. One story
This is our vision for esports. One open ecosystem connecting every ESL and DreamHack’s competition around the world. One world for leagues and tournaments. One place to start your journey. One place to finish it. One path from rookie amateur to global icon. And one very good reason to do it: create a world where everybody can be somebody.
FROM ZERO TO HERO
Teams, players, fans: In partnership with DreamHack we’re simplifying the path to glory. ESL One, Intel® Extreme Masters, ESL Pro League, DreamHack Open and DreamHack Masters now form one, united world. With the same storyline, playing levels, approach to prize money and the new ESL Pro Tour ranking. Starting in 2020, over twenty competitions will be aligned within new tier levels: Open, Challenger and Masters that lead to two Masters Championships each year; IEM Katowice in Poland and ESL One Cologne in Germany.
ESL Pro Tour
The First Events to count in 2019
DreamHack Masters Malmö 2019, IEM Bejing-Haidian 2019 and ESL Pro League Odense 2019 are the first official Masters competitions within the new ESL Pro Tour circuit that award teams with points towards the Road to Cologne in 2020 and also grant each winner a direct invitation to IEM Katowice 2020, the first-ever Masters Championship in 2020.
masters competition
Malmö 2019
FNAtic is invited to KAtowice 2020
masters competition
Beijing-Haidian 2019
Astralis is invited to Katowice 2020
masters competition
Odense 2019
december 6 - 8 | Jyske Bank Arena
Masters
CORSAIR DreamHack Masters is the ultimate experience for fans and players alike, creating a great atmosphere together
ESL One brings you closest to the players, the fans and the game you love in stadiums all over the world. #WEAREONE
Intel® Extreme Masters is the longest-running global esports series in the world, started back in 2006 by Intel and ESL
ESL Pro League is the largest CS:GO league in the world and promises esports at its purest with the best teams competing
Challenger
The ESL National Championship is held in over 14 countries worldwide and is the backbone of each local community
any questions?
The ESL Pro Tour is a circuit combining over twenty ESL and DreamHack Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournaments and leagues which will be connected by a ranking system into one narrative that builds towards two Masters Championships each year: IEM Katowice and ESL One Cologne. With this change to our offering we will have a more complete and simpler path from zero to hero for aspiring players, a more compelling story to follow for existing CS:GO fans and a much more transparent structure for new esports fans. This will be the ultimate expression of our purpose: to create a world where everybody can be somebody.
To provide one cohesive narrative for fans to follow and provide real purpose to all our competitions. We believe one simpler story will make the scene more awesome for current fans and more welcoming for new fans. We also want players around the world to fully understand which events are the most important ones and which roads lead there.
The biggest change will be the connections between events. Challenger tournaments will be a much better doorway into Masters tournaments. The ranking will decide who gets to go to the Masters Championship tournaments at Intel® Extreme Masters Katowice and ESL One Cologne.
Currently, the ESL Pro Tour only covers CS:GO.
Any team in the world has the ability to qualify for and compete in any of the ESL Pro Tour competitions. We believe in growing CS:GO globally and that is an important component of the ESL Pro Tour’s design.
The ESL Pro Tour ranking will have a different mechanic compared to the ESL World Ranking and will take into account ESL Pro Tour competitions as well as Valve CS:GO Majors. Get further information.
Masters level tournaments count towards Intel Grand Slam victories. Being first to win six Masters tournaments or four Masters tournaments including a Masters Championship (incl. an ESL or DreamHack-run Valve Major) guarantees you the Intel Grand Slam victory.
Get more details at the Road to Katowice or at the Road to Cologne
No, though ESL and DreamHack belong to the MTG Group. The ESL Pro Tour is a collaboration similar to the Intel® Grand Slam. Our tournaments are operated by their own respective teams.
Masters tournaments are over $250,000 in prize money and generally take place in larger venues (e.g. arenas). They are designed for the world’s best teams to compete in, whereas Challenger tournaments are designed for highly competitive teams aspiring to play on the Masters level regularly.
The official press release can be found here.
