Full year in the ultimate Counter-Strike circuit announced, with several updates to the program that are set to give fans, players, and partners a year of esports like no other 

September 21, 2023, Cologne/New York – ESL FACEIT Group (EFG), the leading esports and video game entertainment company, today announced the 2024 program for the ESL Pro Tour (EPT) for Counter-Strike. With the launch of Counter-Strike 2 just around the corner, some new changes and additions to the largest ecosystem for the popular game title, and many recurring highlights, fans, players, and partners alike can look forward to an exciting year of esports ahead.

Connecting multiple ESL tournaments into a dedicated circuit and featuring several levels of competition – including EPT Championship, EPT Masters, and EPT Challenger – the ESL Pro Tour offers aspiring, semi-professional, and professional Counter-Strike players worldwide a clear and consistent opportunity to compete and develop their skills to the next level. Furthermore, the circuit provides new and existing fans with a comprehensible tournament structure and inspiring stories to follow.

The ESL Pro Tour for Counter-Strike 2024 Program

The 2024 program of the EPT will see some exciting changes, realigning the ecosystem with the current state of the industry and EFG’s long-term goals whilst offering fans, players, and partners refined opportunities to enjoy the competitive scene. While the dates and locations of various competitions have been announced, further details of the remaining tournaments will follow at a later date.

ESL Pro Tour – Championship

The EPT Championship competitions are the pinnacle events of the ecosystem. Featuring the 24 best teams from around the world and a $1,000,000 total prize pool per Championship event, this is where the ultimate Champions are crowned and history is written.

• Intel® Extreme Masters (IEM) Katowice 2024
  • January 31 – February 11 / Katowice, Poland
  • The final three days of the Hall of Heroes will take place live at the legendary Spodek Arena for the 12th time in history. 
  • The ticket sale starts on September 26, 2023, at 3 pm CEST. Additional details like ticket types and prizes can be found here.
  • During the three live competition days, the event will be accompanied by the leading esports-centric tradeshow, the IEM Expo, at the International Congress Center (MCK) in Katowice, giving esports and gaming enthusiasts once again the opportunity to find enjoyment in additional activities, try out the latest in gaming and tech, and more at the 8,000 square meters of exhibition space. More information will be announced.
• IEM Cologne 2024
  • August 7 – 18 / Cologne, Germany.
  • The final three days of the Cathedral of Counter-Strike will take place live at the iconic LANXESS arena for the eighth time in history.
  • The ticket sale starts on September 28, 2023, at 3 pm CEST, and more information, including details on ticket types and prizes, is available here.

ESL Pro Tour – Masters

The EPT Masters competitions are the central part of the ecosystem, seeing both up-and-coming and top-tier competitors from around the globe battle it out on stages worldwide to prove themselves and ultimately qualify for the EPT Championship competitions. While the IEM competitions will see 16 teams battle it out for a share of the $250,000 prize pool per event, the ESL Pro League (EPL) seasons feature 32 teams and a prize pool of $750,000 per season.

• IEM China 2024:
  • April 8 – 14 / Location to be announced.
  • The final three days will be played out in front of a live audience.
  • Stay tuned as ticket information will be announced.
  • While details of qualifiers in other regions will be revealed at a later date, the qualifiers for China will take place later this year, with the Closed Qualifier happening in person in China:
    • Open qualifier #1: October 24-25, 2023 | Sign-up here
    • Open qualifier #2: October 26-27, 2023 | Sign-up here
    • Closed qualifier: November 3-4, 2023
• ESL Pro League Season 19:
  • April 23 – May 12 / St. Julian’s, Malta.
  • The final three days take place in front of a live audience at the InterContinental Malta.
  • Further details on the ticket types and prizes will be announced in due course.
• IEM Dallas 2024:
  • May 27 – June 2 / Dallas, Texas, USA.
  • The final three days of the competition will be hosted live at the three-day immersive, gaming lifestyle festival, DreamHack Dallas 2024, at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center.
  • More information about the ticket types and prizes will be announced in due course. 
• ESL Pro League Season 20:
  • September 3 – 22 / St. Julian’s, Malta.
  • The three final days of the competition will take place live at the InterContinental Malta.
  • Additional ticket information, including the available types and prizes, will be released at a later date.
• IEM Fall 2024:
  • October 7 – 13 / Location to be announced.
  • The final three days will be played out in front of a live audience.
  • Stay tuned as ticket information will be announced.

Those familiar with the EPT ecosystem will notice that EPL Season 19 and Season 20 will be three weeks long instead of five weeks – the duration of the last couple of seasons. Despite being shorter in length, however, both seasons will be filled with nerve-racking action and additional content. Further details on how this adjustment impacts the format of the league will be revealed closer to the start of EPL Season 19.

ESL Pro Tour – Challenger

The EPT Challenger competitions are regional or international tournaments where tomorrow’s stars are born and during which aspiring teams can test their skills to ultimately proceed to the next level of competition – the EPT Masters.

• ESL Challenger: These three-day tournaments are hosted at DreamHack festivals around the globe and offer eight teams the opportunity to test their skills while playing live on stage for a share of the $100,000 total prize pool per event.
  • ESL Challenger #56: April 26 – 28 / Location to be announced.
  • ESL Challenger #57: June 14 – 16 / Europe; exact location to be announced.
  • ESL Challenger Atlanta: October 4 – 6 / Hosted at DreamHack Atlanta 2024 at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
  • ESL Challenger #59: November 22 – 24 / Europe; exact location to be announced.
• ESL Challenger League: These online league seasons take place over a longer period of time, giving 80 teams per season the opportunity to continuously develop and finetune their skill against other squads from their regions.
  • ESL Challenger League Season 47: February – June / Online.
    • Europe 
    • North America
    • South America
    • Asia
    • Australia & New Zealand
  • ESL Challenger League Season 48: July – November / Online.
    • Europe
    • North America
    • South America
    • Asia
    • Australia & New Zealand

Similar to the ESL Pro League, the ESL Challenger League (ECL) will see adjustments from 2024 onwards as well. Instead of featuring four seasons a year, the online league will continue with two seasons a year. However, these seasons will have a more flexible schedule and span a longer time period than previously in order to ensure minimal overlap with other ESL Pro Tour tournaments – including the ESL Pro League – and provide teams competing in the ESL Challenger League with ample breathing space and break time.

Furthermore, while the European, North American, and Asian regions were already featured in previous seasons, South American squads can look forward to competing against one another in a regional online setting starting with Season 47 as well. For 2024, the regional league also expands to Australia & New Zealand, while an extension beyond Season 48 is being evaluated before the end of next year. While providing these teams with more opportunities to prove themselves and break through to the next level, these additions also ensure a strong basis for the zero-to-hero pathway for aspiring, semi-professional, and professional teams in the regions. Further information, including format, slot and prize pool distribution per region, and more, will be revealed at a later date.

Grassroots competitions

New and aspiring Counter-Strike players and teams from select regions can look to start their journey in organized competitive play, develop their skills, and climb the ladder via the ESEA Leagues, which are hosted on the FACEIT platform. Depending on the region of the player, these online grassroots tournaments offer several levels of competition – Open, Intermediate, Main, and Advanced – from where teams ultimately proceed to the ESL Challenger League.

“It’s that time of the year again when we invite fans, teams, players, and partners alike to prepare for an exciting year ahead with us,” said Shaun Clark, Senior Director of Game Ecosystems – Counter-Strike. “As we’re about to start an electrifying new era in Counter-Strike history, and as we continue to readjust and improve our ecosystem to serve players of all levels and from all over the world, the 2024 program will mark the next chapter for the ESL Pro Tour, and we’re thrilled to continue on this journey with all of you.”

Head over to the official website for more information about the ESL Pro Tour for Counter-Strike, and follow ESL CS on X (Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook.

Furthermore, stay tuned as details of the 2024 program of the all-women Counter-Strike circuit, ESL Impact, part of the #GGFORALL initiative, will be revealed later this year. 

For more general information, check out eslfaceitgroup.com or follow ESLFACEIT Group on LinkedIn.

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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 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 esports and video game entertainment company.

About the ESL Pro Tour

The ESL Pro Tour combines multiple ESL tournaments from various game titles, including Counter-Strike, Dota 2, and StarCraft® II into dedicated circuits that build toward grand championships each year. The overarching structure for both global and regional competitions provides aspiring players from all levels a consistent and clear path from “zero to hero,” a more compelling story to follow for existing Counter-Strike, Dota 2, and StarCraft® II fans, and a more transparent structure for new esports fans (https://pro.eslgaming.com/tour/).