CS:GO – ESL to host its second $250,000 Tourney

ESL is yet again set to gather the best Counter Strike: Global Offensive teams from around the world to fight for a community funded prize pool of $250,000. Continuing ESL’s tradition of support for the CS:GO community, the announcement comes off the back of ESL’s record-breaking Counter Strike event in the Spodek Arena (Katowice, Poland) earlier this year. The most recent CS:GO event in Katowice saw Polish team Virtus.pro with the trophy and reached an all time viewership peak for a Counter-Strike event. An unprecedented 3.5 million hours watched and over 6.2 million sessions were recorded; data which Ulrich Schulze (Managing Director Pro Gaming at ESL) promises is a sign of things to come:

“After our thrilling event in Katowice, we are excited to once again host a tournament with a community funded prize pool. eSports is a great place to be right now and with the community growing as it is, we’re happy to be given the opportunity to showcase the best in competitive gaming once again. The biggest gaming event in the world is the perfect place to host the best CS:GO teams from all over the globe and all of us here at ESL are looking very much forward to what gamescom has to offer.”

Check out the preview video for a taste of the epic competition you can expect from ESL One.

From August 14th – 17th, Cologne (Germany) – the European capital of eSports – is set to see gaming fans from across the world flock to the exhibition center for gamescom 2014 to experience the latest developments in the industry. Meanwhile, in the middle of it all, ESL One will feature teams battling it out for $250,000.

Qualifying for the Event

Up-and-coming teams will have the opportunity to qualify for the tournament. The competition line-up will include the top eight teams from the Katowice event alongside eight teams decided by regional qualifiers (six from Europe, one from North America and one from Oceania/Australia).

Invited Teams:

• Virtus.pro
• Ninjas in Pyjamas
• Team Dignitas
• TEAMGLOBAL (former LGB eSports)
• compLexity Gaming
• HellRaisers
• Team LDLC.com
• Fnatic

“Having watched the Finals in Katowice it will be absolutely brilliant to watch Virtus.pro and Ninjas in Pyjamas take the stage again in Cologne. With exciting teams such as Team Dignitas and HellRaisers, who constantly improve their gameplay to surprise their opponents, the tournament looks to be fantastic. Can’t wait to see which teams qualify in the coming weeks. You definitely don’t want to miss this tournament.” said Alexander Nehr, Product Manager at ESL.

For more information about the tournament and qualifiers please visit the dedicated tournament page: www.esl-one.com