The ESL Pro League (formerly ESL ESEA Pro League; shortened as EPL) is a Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) professional esports league, produced by ESL. It was previously based on four regions: Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Oceania but following a format revamp in season 13, regional leagues were discontinued and unified into one league. ESL Pro League currently comprises 32 teams each season, including 15 Permanent Partner Teams. The ESL Pro League is considered to be the premier professional CS2 league in the world and is one of the major professional leagues in esports. The ESL Pro League began as a venture between the Electronic Sports League (ESL) and E-Sports Entertainment Association League (ESEA). Its inaugural season started on May 4, 2015.[1]
Current season, competition or edition: ESL Pro League Season 18 | |
 | |
| Formerly | ESL ESEA Pro League |
|---|---|
| Game | Counter-Strike 2 |
| Founded | 2015 |
| First season | May 4, 2015 |
| Owner(s) | ESL |
| No. of teams | 32 |
| Region | International |
| Most recent champion(s) | Mouz (Season 19) |
| Most titles | Fnatic and Astralis (3 titles each) |
| TV partner(s) | Twitch |
| Sponsor(s) | Intel |
| Official website | pro |
History
In early November 2014, the German-based Electronic Sports League announced the creation of the ESL Pro League as the European ESL league. On April 28, 2015, ESL announced a joint venture with the North American-based E-Sports Entertainment Association League to provide a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive league with US$500,000 in total prize money in the first season between two continents. It later expanded to fourteen teams per region and raised its prize pool to US$1,000,000, with two seasons running each year.[2] ESL the prize pool once more in 2018 by making the teams fight for $1,000,000 in the Finals, raising the season prize pool by $250,000. In addition, the number of teams in the finals rose to sixteen, with more teams from regions other than North American and Europe participating in the Finals.[3][4][5] In 2020, due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, seasons 11 and 12 did not have a global final, instead regional finals were held in Europe and North America. In 2021, starting from ESL Pro League Season 13, the organization announced a changed format, with one league replacing the four regional leagues that existed prior to the pandemic. All 24 teams would travel to Europe to participate in the league, with the top 12 teams of the 24-team regular season proceeding to the playoffs. With the consolidation of the tournament into one event, the prize pool was reduced to $750,000. [6]Starting from ESL Pro League season 17, the prize pool was increased to $850,000 as a result of increasing the number of teams from 24 to 32.[7]
Format
Prior to ESL Pro League Season 11, the league was split into 3 different regional leagues, Europe, Americas, and Asia-Pacific, with the top teams in each league qualifying for the season finals. However, due to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, season 11 only included two leagues: Europe and North America[8] whereas season 12 was changed to have 5 regional leagues(Europe, North America, South America, Oceania, and Asia). Starting from ESL Pro League season 13, regional leagues were discontinued with teams from each region playing together in a unified league. Teams qualified to ESL Pro League based on their permanent partner team status,[9] ESL World Ranking, or through qualifying from regional Pro League Conference tournaments, ESL Challenger League tournaments, and ESL Challenger Tournaments.[10]
Starting from ESL Pro League Season 14, ESL announced a change to the playoffs format, removing the play-ins stage of the playoffs.[11]
Before ESL Pro League season 17, the format was as follows:
- Group Stage:
- Four single round-robin format groups
- Each group has six teams
- All teams play each other once
- All matches are Best of 3s
- Group 1st place teams advance to the Quarterfinals
- Group 2nd & 3rd place teams advance to the Round of 12
- Four single round-robin format groups
- Playoffs:
- Single-Elimination bracket
- All matches (excl. Grand Final) are Best of 3s
- The Grand Final is Best of 5
Following a format revamp by ESL,[12] which saw the removal of the round-robin format and an increase to 32 teams rather than 24 teams of the previous iterations. The current ESL Pro League format is as follows:
- Group Stage:
- Four triple-elimination format groups
- Each group has eight teams
- All matches are Best of 3s
- The top four teams from each group advance to the Playoffs:
- Group stage winners advance to the Quarterfinals
- Group stage runners-up advance to the Round of 12 as the High Seeds
- Group stage 3rd place teams advance to the Round of 16 as the High Seeds
- Group stage 4th place teams advance to the Round of 16 as the Low Seeds
- Four triple-elimination format groups
- Playoffs:
- Single-Elimination bracket
- All matches (excl. Grand Final) are Best of 3s
- The Grand Final is Best of 5
Seasons
The list of seasons and the top two teams in each season are in shown below. The number next to the teams showed what positions they placed during the regular season in their respective leagues. Regional leagues were discontinued in Season 13. According to report Strife will represents Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) in ESL Pro League Season 16.[13]
Notes
Other Leagues
ESL also has two other leagues outside of Counter-Strike. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege is currently in its eleventh season. The PENTA Sports/G2 Esports core has the most titles with four, as the team won the Year 1 Season 1, Year 2 Season 1, Year 2 Season 2, and Season 8 titles. In addition to the Rainbow Six Siege league, ESL also has a Halo league. However, the two leagues are much less prominent than the Counter-Strike league as Rainbow Six only has a $248,000 prize pool compared to CS:GO's $750,000 prize pool.