| PRESS RELEASE SUMMARY – Commencing August 30th, ESL Pro League is set to return to St. Julian’s, Malta for its 18th Season. – 32 of the best Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) teams battle it out for their share of the $850,000 prize pool and the chance to qualify for the first ESL Pro Tour Championship event in 2024. – The Champions of EPL Season 18 will get one step closer to completing Intel® Grand Slam V and earning the $1,000,000 cash prize. |
Friday, 25th August 2023, Cologne/New York/St. Julian’s – ESL Pro League (EPL) returns to St. Julian’s, Malta with Season 18 set to kick off on August 30th.
Here is all you need to know about ESL Pro League Season 18:
The tournament features 32 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) teams from around the globe battling it out for their share of the $850,000 prize pool and a spot in the first ESL Pro Tour Championship event in 2024. The Champions of EPL Season 18 will also be one step closer to completing Intel® Grand Slam V and earning the $1,000,000 cash prize.
The Group Stage will start on August 30th, in which, over the course of four weeks, 32 teams will compete against each other in a triple-elimination bracket in four separate groups. The top 16 teams will proceed to the high stakes Playoffs, which will be a single elimination bracket. The two best teams will advance to the Grand Final for a best-of-five match for the title of ESL Pro League Season 18 Champions and the top prize of $200,000 in prize money.
Schedule and Format
Group Stage: 30th August – 24th September
- The 32 teams will be divided into four groups of eight and compete against each other in a triple-elimination bracket featuring best-of-three matches. The top four teams from each group will advance to the Playoffs.
- Group A: 30th August – 3rd September
- Group B: 6th – 10th September
- Group C: 13th – 17th September
- Group D: 20th – 24th September
Playoffs: 26th – 30th September
- The playoffs will see the 16 best teams face off in best-of-three matches in the single elimination bracket. Tensions will be high as there will be everything to play for and any mistake could result in the end of their tournament run.
Grand Finals: 1st October
- The Grand Finals will feature the top two teams of the Playoffs facing off in a best-of-five series. The winner will be crowned ESL Pro League Season 18 Champions and take home the top prize of $200,000 as well as qualify for the first ESL Pro Tour Championship event in 2024.
Groups for EPL Season 18:
Group A
| Team Vitality | Astralis | Ninjas in Pyjamas | FURIA |
| Movistar Riders | GRAYHOUND .Rivalry | GamerLegion | ORKS LFORG |
Group B
| HEROIC | BIG | Monte | MOUZ |
| MIBR | Evil Geniuses | ENCE | Rooster |
Group C
| FaZe Clan | Imperial Sportsbet | Fnatic | Apeks |
| M80 | 5yclone | Natus Vincere | 9z Team |
Group D
| Cloud9 | Complexity | 9INE | Team Liquid |
| Virtus.pro | Lynn Vision | G2 Esports | Eternal Fire |
Talent:
- Tres ‘stunna’ Saranthus
- Jacob ‘Pimp’ Winneche
- Geordie ‘Mac’ McAleer
- Conner ‘Scrawny’ Girvan
- Janko ‘YNk’ Paunović
- Mathieu ‘Maniac’ Quiquerez
- Harry ‘JustHarry’ Russell
- Chad ‘SPUNJ’ Burchill
- Jason ‘moses’ O’Toole
- Alex ‘Machine’ Richardson
- Adam ‘Dinko’ Hawthorne
- Henry ‘HenryG’ Greer
- Hugo Byron
- Freya Spiers
- James Bardolph
- Alex ‘Hawka’ Hawkins
Prize Money:
| TOTAL | $850,000 |
| 1st | $200,000 |
| 2nd | $90,000 |
| 3rd – 4th | $50,000 |
| 5th – 8th | $35,000 |
| 9th – 12th | $25,000 |
| 13th – 16th | $20,000 |
| 17th – 20th | $15,000 |
| 21st – 28th | $8,000 |
| 29th – 32nd | $4,000 |
Where to watch:
ESL Pro League Season 18 will be streamed live on the official ESL Counter-Strike Twitch channels, ESLCS, ESLCSb, and ESLCSc from 30th August with VOD’s available on the ESL Counter-Strike Youtube Channel.
For more information about ESL Pro League Season 18, check out the official website, and follow ESL Counter-Strike on X (Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook. For more general information, visit eslfaceitgroup.com, and follow ESL FACEIT Group on LinkedIn.
You can download imagery from the press kit here.
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About ESL FACEIT Group
ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) is the leading esports and video game entertainment company dedicated to creating worlds beyond gameplay where players and fans become a community. EFG is built on a legacy of world-renowned brands including ESL, FACEIT, DreamHack and DreamHack Sports Games, providing innovative ecosystems for global communities of players, fans and creators around the games they love. Working alongside leading partners, brands and global IPs, EFG operates an unmatched portfolio of live events, digital platforms and developer tools that reach and engage millions of gamers worldwide. For more information visit www.eslfaceitgroup.com.
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 Pro League
The ESL Pro League is the world’s longest-running professional league for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, featuring the best teams from Europe, North America, South America and the Asia-Pacific region. Broadcast across various platforms and staged over the years in landmark venues across the globe, the event, split into two seasons a year, provides a unique challenge in the CS:GO calendar and is highly valued by teams, players and fans alike. Originally established in 2015, by 2019 it offered a total prize pool of $1,5 million US dollars. Following the signing of the Louvre Agreement in 2020, ESL Pro League brings 15 of the biggest brands in esports to compete alongside 17 teams trying their best to capitalise on their recent successes (https://pro.eslgaming.com/csgo/proleague/).