PRESS RELEASE SUMMARY – The inaugural Major of ESL R1 will take place live at the RENNSPORT Summit in Munich, Germany, on June 3 – 4, 2023. – The top 24 drivers across the 2023 Spring Season will compete for a share of the €225,000 prize pool – one of the largest seen in a virtual racing tournament. – The best athletes from teams such as Team Redline, G2 Esports, and Heroic are set to compete across two days of high-octane races. – The ESL R1 2023 Spring Major culminates in a heart-pounding finale, where the top 12 drivers will go against one another until Finalist Mode determines the champion.

Thursday, May 25, 2023, New York/Cologne/Munich – The ESL R1 2023 Spring Season will soon reach its conclusion with the ESL R1 2023 Spring Major on June 3 – 4. The finale of the season will be hosted live at the RENNSPORT Summit in Munich, Germany. The top 24 drivers will battle it out at the big stage in Motorworld venue to be crowned the champion and take home a share of the €225,000 prize pool – one of the biggest ever seen in the virtual racing scene.

Here is all you need to know about the ESL R1 2023 Spring Major:

In February earlier this year, the ESL R1 2023 Spring Season kicked off to an exciting start with Rounds One and Two taking place live at the IEM Expo in Katowice, Poland. The season then continued with six exhilarating online rounds, which saw the teams and drivers resume their competition across a range of realistically rendered RENNSPORT tracks using Unreal Engine 5 to deliver the best virtual racing experience. 

Of the total €225,000 total prize pool for the 2023 Spring Season, €112,500 of the pool has been distributed to the competing teams as part of the Team Championship. Following the eight rounds of ESL R1’s inaugural season, it was Team Redline that ended in first place, taking home €45,000. R8G Esports finished in second place (€25,000) and Porsche Coanda in third (€17,500).*Full prize pool distribution and results placed below*

All of this comes to a close with the ESL R1 2023 Spring Major – the culmination of months worth of thrilling races – which will pit the best virtual drivers against one another to ultimately crown the Driver Champion. The top 24 of the season will come together in a two-day live event. All the points from the Regular Season will be carried over, and along with the drivers’ performance across the 2023 Spring Major a winner will be determined. The fate of the remaining €112,500 will also be decided at The Driver Championship, with the first place securing €45,000, and the second and third places taking home €20,000 and €12,500 respectively.*Full prize money breakdown placed below*

Schedule and Format:

Major Day 1

• Spring Major Day 1 begins on June 3, with the 24 qualified drivers divided into two groups. Eight races will take place across the day – four for each group – with the top 12 drivers from Major Day 1 advancing to Major Day 2 on June 4. 

Major Day 2

• Top 12 drivers for Major Day 1 will compete in unlimited races until drivers hit Finalist Mode by reaching or surpassing 160 points. The first driver who wins a race whilst in Finalist Mode will be crowned the champion of the ESL R1 2023 Spring Season.

Watch the short explanation video here.

ESL R1 2023 – Spring Major confirmed drivers:

Team Redline

• Luke Bennett
  • One of the youngest drivers on the grid at only 18 years old
• Kevin Siggy 
• Enzo Bonito
• Jeffrey Rietveld 

R8G eSports

• Marcell Csincsik
  • A consistent driver who has made five finals out of the eight rounds this season
• Erhan Jajovski
• Jiri Toman

Porsche Coanda

• Joshua Rogers
  • Considered one of the best virtual racers in the world
• Mitchell deJong
• Mack Bakkum 

Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports Team

• James Baldwin
• Marko Pejic

Mercedes-AMG Williams Esports Team

• Dáire McCormack
  • The first driver to be a two time round winner, coming first in two back-to-back races

• Nikodem Wisniewski
• Jakub Brzeziński

MOUZ

• Moritz Löhner
• Maximilian Benecke
• Yuri Kasdorp 

G2 Esports

• Joni Törmälä 
• Eamonn Murphy 

Apex Racing Team

• Kevin Ellis Jr 

BMW M Team BS+Competition

• Nils Naujoks 

FURIA

• Caique Oliveira

Heroic

• Tommy Østgaard

Broadcast talents

• Host: Jasmine “Veracity” Kanuga
  • British presenter, commonly known for being a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive host
• Pit Lane Reporter: Ash Vandelay
  • Red Bull Racing content creator and the number one American Formula 1 Twitch streamer
• Expert: Ian “Crimsix” Porter
  • Former professional Call of Duty player, who is currently a content creator for FaZe Clan and previously virtual racer during this season.
• Commentators: Ewan O’Leary and Lewis McGlade
  • Freelance racing commentators who have previously worked with RaceRoom and Racespot TV

Prize pool:

The total prize pool of €112,500 for the ESL R1 Spring Season 2023 will be distributed among the top six teams* and the top 12 drivers. The winners of the Driver Championship will be determined after the ESL R1 Spring Major 2023 in Munich. 

Place	Driver Championship Prize Money
1st	€45,000
2nd	€20,000
3rd	€12,500
4th	€8,000
5th	€6,000
6th	€5,000
7th	€3,500
8th	€3,000
9th	€2,750
10th	€2,500
11th	€2,250
12th	€2,000
13th – 24th	–
Total	€112,500

Broadcast details:

The ESL R1 Spring Major 2023 will be streamed live from Munich in Germany, on the official ESL R1 Twitch and YouTube channel.

Assets for the ESL R1 Spring Major 2023 can be found in the press kit which is available here. Photos of Round 1 and 2 of the 2023 Spring Season, which took place live at the IEM Expo in conjunction with IEM Katowice 2023 earlier this year, can be found here. For more information about ESL R1 you can check out this video, head to the official website, and follow ESL R1 on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

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* Team Championship results and prize pool winnings: 

Place	Team	Team Championship Prize Money
1st	Team Redline	€45,000
2nd	R8G Esports	€25,000
3rd	Porsche Coanda	€17,500
4th	MOUZ	€12,500
5th	Mercedes-AMG	€7,500
6th	William Esports	€5,000
7th	G2 Esports	–
8th	Apex Racing Team	–
9th	Heroic	–
10th	FURIA	–
11th	BMW M Team (BS+)	–
12th	FaZe Clan	–
Total	–	€112,500

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About ESL
ESL creates a world where everybody can be somebody. For more than two decades, we have been shaping the industry and leading esports and gaming innovation globally across the most popular video games, creating a comprehensive ecosystem with opportunities for players to go from zero to hero and for fans to witness the best stories esports has to offer. The ESL portfolio consists of high-profile products such as the ESL Pro Tour, Intel® Extreme Masters, the Snapdragon Pro Series, and many more, ranging from grassroots to global elite competitions. ESL is part of ESL FACEIT Group, the leading competitive games and esports company.

About ESL R1
Setting a whole new standard for virtual racing, ESL R1 – Racing Released is the pristine RENNSPORT esports league by ESL, part of the ESL FACEIT Group. Bringing racing culture to the digital age, ESL R1 places the passionate community of racers right in the driver’s seat, ensuring it is always the number one priority. RENNSPORT utilizes cutting edge Unreal Engine 5 technology to bring the incredible virtual racing experience to life, whether you’re behind the steering wheel yourself or experiencing the exhilaration of an ESL R1 competition (https://eslr1.com/).

About RENNSPORT
RENNSPORT is a new virtual racing platform that makes ultra-realistic racing accessible to anyone. It´s our obsession to create the perfect racing game, ensuring it’s an ultra-realistic virtual experience but also fun to drive. Throughout the journey, automotive and game development experts join forces to create a virtual racing hub for all motorsports enthusiasts, and we want to inspire with a bold combination of driving physics developed by experts within the automotive industry, combined with custom Unreal Engine 5 graphics. We create the future of virtual racing and car culture together with you.