CSGO fans in the UK may be interested to learn that ESL Gaming has made a bunch of big structural changes for the ESL Pro Tour in 2022.
The ESL Pro Tour CSGO 2022 will feature more than 25 competitions, including some live events with fans planned to return in person. These include flagship tournaments Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Katowice and IEM Cologne.
“ESL are preparing to welcome back the community to in-person competitions in line with the very latest health guidance and safety precautions,” read a press release. “More information on ticket sales and entry requirements will be released soon.”
There will be seven ESL Pro Tour Masters competitions next year, with four ESL Pro Tour Challenger events (formerly known as DreamHack Open), four ESL Pro Tour Challenger Leagues (formerly ESEA Premier) and more than ten national competitions, including the ESL UK & Ireland Premiership.
Tournament winners on the EPT Challenger level will now all play into ESL Pro League as the one destination for Challenger teams in the ecosystem.
The competition will be expanded to further accommodate the new structure for seasons 15 and 16. The circuit will conclude at one of the two yearly EPT Championships and aims to crown the ultimate champions to lift the trophy in succession of teams like Gambit Esports and Natus Vincere.
There will be more than $5m in prize money up for grabs and 200m viewing hours predicted (excluding China).
“We are incredibly proud and excited to reveal our entire 2022 program planning for ESL Pro Tour for CSGO,” said Shaun Clark, director ESL Pro Tour at ESL Gaming.
“While working tirelessly to refine and improve the program, we have made great changes to provide a better, clearer and more competitive structure. We are also ecstatic at the prospect of finally welcoming fans back to our competitions for the first time in two years.”
Marc Winther Kristensen, senior product manager at ESL Gaming, further explained the thinking behind the changes and moving away from DreamHack branding in this Twitter thread:
Dom is an award-winning writer and finalist of the Esports Journalist of the Year 2023 award. He graduated from Bournemouth University with a 2:1 degree in Multi-Media Journalism in 2007.
As a long-time gamer having first picked up the NES controller in the late ’80s, he has written for a range of publications including GamesTM, Nintendo Official Magazine, industry publication MCV and others. He worked as head of content for the British Esports Federation up until February 2021, when he stepped back to work full-time on Esports News UK and offer esports consultancy and freelance services. Note: Dom still produces the British Esports newsletter on a freelance basis, so our coverage of British Esports is always kept simple – usually just covering the occasional press release – because of this conflict of interest.
