In accordance with the Tournament Operation Requirements, we’re publishing additional information pertaining to ESL Pro League Season 23, which will take place in 2026.
ESL Pro League will continue to feature 24 of the world’s best teams, with Stage 1 and Stage 2 once again running in a 16-team Swiss tournament format. All matches in the Swiss stages will be played in a best-of-three format, before moving to the playoffs with 8 teams in a single elimination bracket.
Teams will once again be competing for $1,000,000 in Total Winnings, and the event will count towards the Grand Slam race for a chance to win $1,000,000.
Returning to the arena
Counter-Strike is best played in front of a live audience when the stakes are at their highest, and the trophy needs to be hoisted. While in the previous seasons we catered to a small and intimate audience in a studio setting, we’ve been striving to find a return to the arena with ESL Pro League.
For Season 23 we’re committing to hosting the playoffs in front of a live audience in an arena environment in Europe.
The playoffs will continue to feature 8 teams, as in previous seasons, with all matches played in front of a live audience. In 2026, ESL Pro League will also introduce a best-of-three third place decider match, prior to the best-of-five Grand Final on the Sunday.
MOUZ lifting the EPL Season 10 trophy in Odense, Denmark
More specific details and information will be released once we’ve concluded the final steps in finalizing the location.
Group Stage Structure & Participants Stipend
As we move into 2026, and to facilitate the goal of returning to an arena setting, Stage 1 and Stage 2 will be taking place online as a global tournament and played on European servers. All teams participating in the group stage will be provided financial support so they can participate in a bootcamp, at a location of their choosing. We hope this will also give teams the opportunity to make content with their own players, participate in open qualifiers to other events, and in general have more flexibility during the increasingly busy VRS tournament schedule.
All teams that advance beyond the group stage will be fully taken care of with flights, accommodation, practice rooms and more provided for the playoffs, as any other live event and as a part of our Hospitality and Service Standards outlined in our Ecosystem Agreement.
Opportunities for all layers of the ecosystem
ESL Challenger League once again serves as a pathway for teams competing in the ESEA League structure on FACEIT to ladder up and make their way to ESL Pro League. We will continue our connection with ESL Challenger League winners in five regions, offering them slots in Stage 1. More information about the ESL Challenger League structure for the upcoming season will be shared in a separate release, as we look to move towards a structure that will align better to the VRS structure and time commitment from participating teams in all regions.
Our roots date back to the time when anyone could bring their computer to LAN and compete. While this opportunity in the competitive landscape has somewhat drifted away in recent times, we’re opening the door towards grass roots competitions in North America and Europe. These completely open Bring-Your-Own-Computer events will serve as Open Qualifiers and will feature a slot to Stage 1 for the winning teams. More information about these events will be announced in the near future.
Additional Information
Dates: Feb 27 - Mar 15, 2026
Stage 1 & 2 location: Online (European servers)
Playoffs location: Arena in Europe
Stage 1
- Global VRS Invite (9th-17th)
- Global VRS Invite (9th-17th)
- Global VRS Invite (9th-17th)
- Global VRS Invite (9th-17th)
- Global VRS Invite (9th-17th)
- Global VRS Invite (9th-17th)
- Global VRS Invite (9th-17th)
- Global VRS Invite (9th-17th)
- Global VRS Invite (9th-17th)
- ESL Challenger League S50 Europe
- ESL Challenger League S50 North America
- ESL Challenger League S50 South America
- ESL Challenger League S50 Asia
- ESL Challenger League S50 Oceania
- Open Qualifier (North American BYOC event)
- Open Qualifier (European BYOC event)
Stage 2
- Global VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- Global VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- Global VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- Global VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- Global VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- Global VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- Global VRS Invite (1st-8th)
- Global VRS Invite (1st-8th)
VRS publication date: invites will follow the first available monthly VRS publication of January 2026.
Total Winnings: $1,000,000
Place | Prize Money | Club Reward |
|---|---|---|
1. | $100,000 | $150,000 |
2. | $55,000 | $101,500 |
3. | $37,500 | $72,500 |
4. | $22,500 | $45,000 |
5-8. | $15,000 | $33,000 |
9-11. | $12,500 | $22,000 |
12-14. | $10,500 | $11,000 |
15-16. | $8,500 | - |
17-19. | $6,500 | - |
20-22. | $4,500 | - |
23-24. | $3,000 | - |
Invite exceptions: exceptions to invitations will apply if a player is banned by EFG or ESIC.
