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DreamHack & ESL Will Launch A "CS:GO" Global Circuit In 2020

Published Wed, 04 Sep 2019 07:10:42 -0500

by Gavin Sheehan

Last updated Wed, 04 Sep 2019 07:16:49 -0500

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Dreamhack and the ESL announced new plans for their CS:GO tournament format headed into 2020 as they change the way their esports system will run. The new ESL Pro Tour will feature an aggregate prize pool of more than $5 million from competitions across five continents. What's more, it will be organized into Challenger and Masters levels. The Challenger level will include DreamHack Open, the Mountain Dew League and ESL's National Championships. Those will serve as a platform for teams to elevate themselves to Master-level tourneys. As for the Masters category, those will be arena tournaments with $250k or more prize pots. Those events will include ESL One, Intel Extreme Masters, and DreamHack Masters.

This format will also be transferred over to the ESL CS:GO Pro League, where teams will win points toward their ranking. The best will compete in two Masters Championship finals each year at the ESL One Cologne and Intel Extreme Masters Katowice. Here's a couple of quotes from the announcement this week.

DreamHack & ESL Will Launch A "CS:GO" Global Circuit In 2020 — Credit: ESL

"This collaboration will provide a deeper meaning and purpose to all of our properties, allowing us to provide fans with more thrilling experiences than before. On the other hand, it also represents a much larger and more attractive opportunity for sponsors and media to engage with the esports audience," said DreamHack Co-CEO Marcus Lindmark. "ESL Pro Tour mirrors our ambition to provide up-and-coming players with a clear pathway to become tomorrow's esports professionals."

"ESL's growth in recent years has led us to rethink what we are doing. We have built some of the world's most impressive esports tournaments, and it was the time to connect the dots where the outcome is a bigger picture that fits better with our vision for esports," said ESL CEO Ralf Reichert. "This partnership between ESL and DreamHack will give youths a clearer and more complete path to becoming somebody, and a structure that is more welcoming and digestible for new esports fans."