As we get closer to 2025, amateur teams are preparing to take their first steps in the ESEA League, and aspiring players are setting their New Year's resolutions to become top competitors. Today, we’re sharing an update on how the ESL Challenger League (ECL) will adapt to meet Valve’s new regulations and provide players with an opportunity to earn their first VRS points on the path to ESL Pro League.
ESL Challenger League will remain a cornerstone of the ESL Pro Tour ecosystem for Counter-Strike. It will play a crucial role in fostering an open and competitive environment, supporting players on their journey to the professional level and qualification for ESL Pro League.
In 2025, ECL will feature a prize pool of $580,000, distributed among more than 80 teams across five regions. It will also serve as the bridge between the amateur ESEA League and ESL Pro League, with all matches being played on FACEIT.
For further news about the upcoming ESEA League Season 52, read here.
Transition Period and Season 50 Qualification
For the first season of 2025, Season 49, ESL Challenger League will honor the existing requalification system and previously announced qualification pathways through ESEA League.
Starting with the second season of the year, Season 50, ECL will be transitioning to using invites based on Valve Regional Standings in every region along with promotion from our Open Qualifiers: the highest ESEA League division in each region. Teams will no longer qualify from the previous ECL season and will move to the ESEA League division below if they do not receive a slot through VRS, where they will have the opportunity to qualify for the following ECL season.
Team invites will be issued using the first available VRS ranking in the month of July 2025. The monthly VRS publications, which will serve as the basis for team invitations, can be accessed here. Exceptions to invitations will apply if a player is banned by ESL FACEIT Group or ESIC.
The full duration of each season will be as listed below.
Season 49 Dates: 21 January - 11 May, 2025
Season 50 Dates: 5 August - 16 November, 2025
Qualification to ESL Pro League
ECL teams will continue to compete for qualification to ESL Pro League. Starting in 2025, changes due to the new regulations mean that only the winning team from each region will qualify for the upcoming season of ESL Pro League, as opposed to both the winner and runner-up previously. This change will take effect starting with EPL Season 22.
To ensure runner-up teams still have an opportunity, the ESL Pro League will feature additional qualifiers in the four VRS regions, providing a pathway into the most prestigious Counter-Strike league.
ECL Regional Formats
Europe
In Europe there will be a total of 24 teams competing each season.
Stage 1
- 4 x 6 team Single Round-Robin groups.
- All matches are best-of-three.
- Top 4 teams from each group advance to Stage 2, where they will be divided into High and Mid groups based on their performance.
- Bottom 2 teams from each group are eliminated.
Stage 2
- 2 x 8 team Double-Elimination groups with teams seeded based on their performance in Stage 1.
- All matches are best-of-three.
- High group:
- Top 2 teams advance to Playoffs Upper-Bracket Round 2
- 3rd to 6th advance to Playoffs Upper-Bracket Round 1
- Bottom 2 teams continue to Playoffs Lower-Bracket Round 1
- Mid group:
- Top 2 teams advance to Playoffs Lower-Bracket Round 1
- Remaining 6 are eliminated
Playoffs
- 10 teams from Stage 2 will compete in a Double-Elimination bracket with all matches played as best-of-three. 8 teams from the High group and 2 teams from the Mid group are seeded into the bracket according to their group performance.
- Top 2 teams progress to the best-of-five Grand Final, with the Upper-Bracket team starting with a 1-0 lead.
- The winning team secures a spot in ESL Pro League.
North America, South America and Asia
In each of these three regions, a total of 16 teams will compete each season.
Group Stage
- 16 teams participate in a Double Round-Robin format, playing two best-of-ones consecutively.
- Top 10 teams move on to the Playoffs.
Playoffs
- Top 10 teams from the Group Stage enter a Double-Elimination bracket with all matches played as best-of-three.
- Top 2 teams advance to the best-of-five Grand Final, with the Upper-Bracket team starting with a 1-0 lead.
- The winning team secures a spot in ESL Pro League.
Oceania
In Oceania each season will see 10 teams competing.
Group Stage
- 10 teams participate in a Double Round-Robin format, playing two best-of-ones consecutively.
- Top 5 teams move on to the Playoffs.
Playoffs
- Top 5 teams from the Group Stage enter a Double-Elimination bracket with all matches played as best-of-three.
- Top 2 teams advance to the best-of-five Grand Final, with the Upper-Bracket team starting with a 1-0 lead.
- The winning team secures a spot in ESL Pro League.
Season 49 Slot Distribution
Europe
- ECL S48 EU (1st-18th)
- ECL S48 EU (1st-18th)
- ECL S48 EU (1st-18th)
- ECL S48 EU (1st-18th)
- ECL S48 EU (1st-18th)
- ECL S48 EU (1st-18th)
- ECL S48 EU (1st-18th)
- ECL S48 EU (1st-18th)
- ECL S48 EU (1st-18th)
- ECL S48 EU (1st-18th)
- ECL S48 EU (1st-18th)
- ECL S48 EU (1st-18th)
- ECL S48 EU (1st-18th)
- ECL S48 EU (1st-18th)
- ECL S48 EU (1st-18th)
- ECL S48 EU (1st-18th)
- ECL S48 EU (1st-18th)
- ECL S48 EU (1st-18th)
- ESEA Advanced S50 EU (1st)
- ESEA Advanced S51 EU (1st)
- ECL S48 Relegation EU (1st-4th)
- ECL S48 Relegation EU (1st-4th)
- ECL S48 Relegation EU (1st-4th)
- ECL S48 Relegation EU (1st-4th)
North America
- ECL S48 NA (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 NA (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 NA (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 NA (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 NA (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 NA (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 NA (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 NA (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 NA (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 NA (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 NA (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 NA (1st-12th)
- ESEA Advanced 50 NA (1st)
- ESEA Advanced 51 NA (1st)
- ECL S48 Relegation NA (1st-2nd)
- ECL S48 Relegation NA (1st-2nd)
South America
- ECL S48 SA (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 SA (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 SA (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 SA (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 SA (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 SA (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 SA (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 SA (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 SA (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 SA (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 SA (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 SA (1st-12th)
- ESEA Open Season 50 SA (1st)
- ESEA Open Season 51 SA (1st)
- ECL S48 Relegation SA (1st-2nd)
- ECL S48 Relegation SA (1st-2nd)
Asia
- ECL S48 AS (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 AS (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 AS (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 AS (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 AS (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 AS (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 AS (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 AS (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 AS (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 AS (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 AS (1st-12th)
- ECL S48 AS (1st-12th)
- ESEA Open Season 50 AS (1st)
- ESEA Open Season 51 AS (1st)
- ECL S48 Relegation AS (1st-2nd)
- ECL S48 Relegation AS (1st-2nd)
Oceania
- ECL S48 OCE (1st-6th)
- ECL S48 OCE (1st-6th)
- ECL S48 OCE (1st-6th)
- ECL S48 OCE (1st-6th)
- ECL S48 OCE (1st-6th)
- ECL S48 OCE (1st-6th)
- ESEA Open Season 50 OCE (1st)
- ESEA Open Season 51 OCE (1st)
- ECL S48 Relegation OCE (1st-2nd)
- ECL S48 Relegation OCE (1st-2nd)
Season 50 Slot Distribution
Europe
- Europe VRS Invite (1st-16th)
- Europe VRS Invite (1st-16th)
- Europe VRS Invite (1st-16th)
- Europe VRS Invite (1st-16th)
- Europe VRS Invite (1st-16th)
- Europe VRS Invite (1st-16th)
- Europe VRS Invite (1st-16th)
- Europe VRS Invite (1st-16th)
- Europe VRS Invite (1st-16th)
- Europe VRS Invite (1st-16th)
- Europe VRS Invite (1st-16th)
- Europe VRS Invite (1st-16th)
- Europe VRS Invite (1st-16th)
- Europe VRS Invite (1st-16th)
- Europe VRS Invite (1st-16th)
- Europe VRS Invite (1st-16th)
- ESEA Advanced S52 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Advanced S52 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Advanced S52 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Advanced S52 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Advanced S53 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Advanced S53 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Advanced S53 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Advanced S53 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
North America
- North America VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- North America VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- North America VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- North America VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- North America VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- North America VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- North America VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- North America VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- ESEA Advanced S52 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Advanced S52 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Advanced S52 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Advanced S52 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Advanced S53 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Advanced S53 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Advanced S53 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Advanced S53 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
South America
- South America VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- South America VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- South America VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- South America VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- South America VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- South America VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- South America VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- South America VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- ESEA Open S52 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Open S52 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Open S52 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Open S52 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Open S53 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Open S53 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Open S53 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Open S53 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
Asia
- Asia VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- Asia VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- Asia VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- Asia VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- Asia VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- Asia VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- Asia VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- Asia VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- ESEA Open S52 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Open S52 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Open S52 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Open S52 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Open S53 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Open S53 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Open S53 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Open S53 1st-4th (Open Qualifier)
Oceania
- Oceania VRS Invite (1st-5th)
- Oceania VRS Invite (1st-5th)
- Oceania VRS Invite (1st-5th)
- Oceania VRS Invite (1st-5th)
- Oceania VRS Invite (1st-5th)
- ESEA Open S52 1st-2nd (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Open S52 1st-2nd (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Open S53 1st-3rd (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Open S53 1st-3rd (Open Qualifier)
- ESEA Open S53 1st-3rd (Open Qualifier)
$580,000 Annual Prize Money
In 2025, ESL Challenger League will continue to award a total of $580,000 in prize money, distributed across two seasons in the five distinct regions. A full breakdown of how each season is distributed can be found below.
Europe
Place | Prize Money |
|---|---|
1. | $15,000 |
2. | $10,000 |
3. | $8,000 |
4. | $6,500 |
5-6. | $5,000 |
7-8. | $4,000 |
9-10. | $3,000 |
11. | $2,000 |
12. | $1,500 |
13-14. | $1,000 |
15-16. | $500 |
Stage 1 Win Bonus (60 matches) | $30,000 ($500 per match) |
Total: $100,000
| |
North America
Place | Prize Money |
|---|---|
1. | $25,000 |
2. | $15,000 |
3. | $10,500 |
4. | $7,000 |
5-6. | $4,250 |
7-8. | $3,000 |
9-10. | $2,000 |
11. | $1,600 |
12. | $1,200 |
13. | $800 |
14. | $400 |
15-16. | - |
Total: $80,000
| |
South America
Place | Prize Money |
|---|---|
1. | $20,000 |
2. | $11,500 |
3. | $7,500 |
4. | $5,000 |
5-6. | $3,000 |
7-8. | $2,000 |
9-10. | $1,500 |
11. | $1,200 |
12. | $900 |
13. | $600 |
14. | $300 |
15-16. | - |
Total: $60,000
| |
Asia
Place | Prize Money |
|---|---|
1. | $15,000 |
2. | $8,000 |
3. | $5,000 |
4. | $3,000 |
5-6. | $2,000 |
7-8. | $1,300 |
9-10. | $800 |
11. | $500 |
12. | $300 |
13-16. | - |
Total: $40,000
| |
Oceania
Place | Prize Money |
|---|---|
1. | $3,250 |
2. | $2,000 |
3. | $1,400 |
4. | $1,050 |
5. | $800 |
6. | $600 |
7. | $450 |
8. | $300 |
9. | $150 |
10. | - |
Total: $10,000
| |
Outro
While the ESL Challenger League's format will remain mostly unchanged for now, we are evaluating possible reviews and adjustments for 2026. In order to keep up to date with all the updates and not miss any important news, as always, make sure to sign up for our newsletter and follow ESLCS on X, Instagram, and Facebook.
