Want to know more about ESL CSGO? Take a read through this article. We’ve provided in-depth details about tournaments, betting tips, ESL CSGO live streams, attending teams, event dates, and more.
Everything There Is To Know About ESL CSGO
ESL is one of the world’s biggest esports organizations in the world. Also known as the ESL League, they have been responsible for setting up some of the biggest esports tournaments globally. ESL was originally founded back in 2000 – a time where esports was mostly under the radar. Today, esports has grown to be a dominating type of new media and ESL are still at the forefront.
ESL works hard to provide tournaments for a variety of games but they are best known for their ventures into Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Their first CSGO tournament started in 2015. ESL and ESEA, another big name in CSGO esports, teamed up to create the very first ESL Pro League tournament. The first event featured 12 European and 12 North American teams and have a massive $500,000 prize pool.
Since then, the ESL Pro League has expanded to include up to 16 teams per region and the prize pool now sits between $900,000 and $1,000,000 per season. More details about how this prize pool is split are provided below.
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Where else to find the ESL CSGO Live Streams
In 2018, ESL signed an exclusivity deal with Facebook. As a result, all ESL CSGO live streams can be found on their Facebook page. You can navigate directly to the ESL CSGO Facebook page to find out details about the latest ESL CSGO live streams, or alternatively you can go to live.proleague.com/csgo.
There is no longer a dedicated ESL CSGO Twitch page. Whilst Twitch is currently the biggest game streaming platform in the world, ESL’s partnership with Facebook means that the ESL CSGO live stream must be on Facebook or on the aforementioned dedicated Pro League page. There’s no details on how long the ESL live stream deal will last with Facebook.
ESL and DreamHack Launch CSGO Circuit With $5.000,000 in Prize Pool
2020 is going to be a breakthrough year for both DreamHack and ESL. They decided to create ESL Pro Tour which will be one of the biggest leagues in CSGO history.
This Tour will combine over 20 various ESL and DreamHack events which will basically be a build-up for two Championship Finals.
There are two stages to this Circuit, Challenger and Master. Challenger competitions will include:
- DreamHack Open Stops
- ESEA MDL
- ESL National Championships
Basically, these lower-tiered types of events will enable weaker teams to fight their way to the top and advance through to the Master stage where they will compete in tournaments with $250,000+ in prize pool money.
Master events consist of:
- DreamHack Masters
- ESL One
- Intel Extreme Masters
- ESL Pro League
Teams competing in the ESL Pro Tour events will accumulate points throughout tournaments and teams that accumulate the highest number of points will earn spots at two Masters Championship finals, IEM Katowice and ESL One Cologne.
ESL CSGO schedule for 2020
Even though we have a lot more CSGO events before 2020, ESL already released one event which will take place in Germany. ESL One: Cologne is also known as the cathedral of Counter-Strike and we will enjoy it once again in 2020.
- ESL One: Cologne 2020(July, 2020)
ESL CSGO schedule for 2019
As you can see from the list above, 2019 is crowded with ESL events. Alongside ESL Pro League Season 9 and ESL Pro League Season 10, this CSGO brand will provide us with both ESL One: Cologne and ESL One: New York.
- ESL Pro League Season 9 – Europe(April 12 – May 23)
- ESL Pro League Season 9 – Americas(April 12 – May 23)
- ESL Pro League Season 9 – Finals(June 18 – June 23)
- ESL One: Cologne 2019(July 2 – July 7)
- ESL One: New York 2019(September 26 – September 29)
- ESL Pro League Season 10 – Europe(October 8 – November 18)
- ESL Pro League Season 10 – Americas(October 8 – November 18)
- ESL Pro League Season 10 – Finals(December 3 – December 8)
ESL CSGO schedule for 2018
In 2018, there were two ESL live streamed CSGO seasons. The first season had dates set for between February and May, whilst the second season had dates set for between September and December.
The seasons being showcased that year were Season 7 and Season 8. Here’s a full look at the schedule and when ESL live streamed them:
Season 7 ESL CSGO Schedule 2018
● Week 1: February 13 – February 15
● Week 2: February 20 – February 22
● Week 3: February 27 – March 01
● Week 4: March 06 – March 08
● Week 5: March 13 – March 15
● Week 6: March 20 – March 22
● Week 7: April 03 – April 05
● Week 8: April 10 – April 12
● Week 9: April 17 – April 19
● Week 10: April 24 – May 2
● Season 7 Finals: May 14 – May 20
Season 8 ESL CSGO Schedule 2018
● Week 1: September 18 – September 20
● Week 2: September 25 – September 27
● Week 3: October 02 – October 04
● Week 4: October 09 – October 11
● Week 5: October 16 – October 18
● Week 6: October 23 – October 25
● Week 7: October 30 – November 1
● Week 8: November 06 – November 08
● Week 9: November 20 – November 22
● Season 8 Finals: December 10 – December 16
ESL CSGO Prize Pools
ESL has three separate prize pools for each season. First, the Europe prize pool is set for European teams. We then have the North American prize pool. ESL live streams all three events during each season.
The top performing teams within each region will then proceed to the ESL Pro League Finals – this is where the biggest of the three prize pools is found.
The Season 10 Prize Pools are Shown Below:
- ESL Pro League Season 10 Europe: $60,000
- ESL Pro League Season 10 Americas: $62,000
- ESL Pro League Season 9 Finals: $600,000
The Season 9 Prize Pools are Shown Below:
- ESL Pro League Season 9 Europe: $60,000
- ESL Pro League Season 9 Americas: $62,000
- ESL Pro League Season 9 Finals: $600,000
The Season 8 Prize Pools are shown below:
- Season 8 Europe Prize Pool: $105,000
- Season 8 North America Prize Pool: $87,000
- Season 8 Finals Prize Pool: $750,000
The Season 7 Prize Pools are shown below:
- Season 7 Europe Prize Pool: $105,000
- Season 7 North America Prize Pool: $87,000
- Season 8 Finals Prize Pool: $750,000
The best places to make bets on ESL CSGO matches
If you’d like to make bets on any upcoming ESL CSGO live streamed matches, we’ve got a number of bookmakers below that are worth trying out.
All of these betting companies are highly trusted and have welcome bonuses for new customers. More importantly, they all provide matches for ESL live streamed matches on Facebook.
Arcanebet
A trusted betting website dedicated to esports. You can get a huge 100 Euro bonus when you first sign up. Read our Arcanebet Review.
Tipbet
A well known sports betting website that recently branched out to esports betting. Offers a huge 100 Euro bonus and plenty of great CSGO markets to bet on. Read our Tipbet Review.
Betway
One of the world’s most known betting companies has recently branched off into esports betting. You can get a 30 GBP bonus for making your first deposit. Read our Betway Review.
Pinnacle
Pinnacle is another esports focused betting website that’s trusted and offers great competitive odds, despite no welcome bonus. Read our Pinnacle Review.
Esportsbetting
A new, trusted betting website dedicated to esports betting. You can get two 13.37 Euro bets for making an initial 30 Euro qualifying bet. Read our Esportsbetting review.
Teams attending CSGO ESL events
To attend a CSGO ESL tournament, a team must perform well in a previous season. The top 11 teams from the previous season will automatically qualify for the regional event for the next season at ESL.
There aren’t any ESL live streams for these events, but one spot is also open for any ESEA Premier teams to fight for. The #1 ESEA Premier team is invited to the following ESL Pro League Season. The worst performing teams in the previous season also get a chance to fight for a spot in the following season during a small relegation tournament.
Because ESL’s tournaments are designed to make it very easy for top performing teams to enter and very hard for newer teams to fight their way through the ranks, you often see the same teams and faces each season. This is great news for the viewer because you’re almost guaranteed a season filled with exciting ESL CSGO live streams every single season.
It’s also great from a betting perspective because the top tier teams have more history and data to go off of when making informed bets.
Here is an example of the incredible teams that often attend CSGO ESL events:
- Mousesports
- Ninjas In Pyjamas
- Natus Vincere
- FaZe
- NRG
- Astralis
- Heroic
- Team Liquid
- OpTic
- Cloud9
- Renegades
Previous ESL Pro League season winners
For those interested, here’s a short look back in history at the dominating teams that have come out on top in previous ESL Pro League CSGO seasons.
ESL Pro League Season 1 Winner: Fnatic
The ESL Pro League first started during Fnatic’s incredible victory run. During this time, they seemed almost unbeatable. In the Season 1 finals, Fnatic beat Cloud9 in an impressive 3-1 victory. Fnatic took home $100,000 for their efforts.
ESL Pro League Season 2 Winner: Fnatic
Fnatic was still going strong one season later, this time coming up against NaVi during the Season 2 finals. Things here were closer than the previous season and Fnatic only came out with a close 3-2 victory against NaVi. After their win, they took home another $100,000.
ESL Pro League Season 3 Winner: Luminosity Gaming
Season 3 was a very transformative season. We saw Fnatic drop out in the semifinals against G2 Esports who had never performed so well in their life. Surprisingly, Luminosity Gaming, a Brazilian team that came almost out of nowhere, pulled ahead and beat G2 in the grand final with a 3-2 score. Luminosity Gaming went home with $200,000.
ESL Pro League Season 4 Winner: Cloud9
During Season 4, Luminosity switched organizations to SK Gaming and they were starting to gain dominance. However, SK fell flat in the final and lost 2-1 to Cloud9, which was lead by N0thing and Shroud at the time. Cloud9 walked home with $200,000 in prize money.
ESL Pro League Season 5 Winner: G2 Esports
Season 5 was very interesting – SK lost in the semifinals to G2, who went on to win the grand final with a 3-1 score against Danish team North. G2 took home $225,000.
ESL Pro League Season 6 Live Winner: SK Gaming
After their loss to G2 Esports, SK Gaming was back and stronger than ever in season 6. They fought strong throughout the event and beat FaZe with a strong 3-1 victory. SK Gaming took home $225,000.
ESL Pro League Season 7 Winner: Astralis
The most recent ESL Pro League tournament happened in 2018 and Astralis were the grand final winner. Astralis crushed Team Liquid in the grand final with a 3-1 score, taking home $250,000.
ESL Pro League Season 8 Winner: Astralis
This was an easy tournament for Astralis. They rolled past all of the top contenders as they grabbed ESL Pro League Season 8 trophy. Danish CSGO roster defeats giants such as Liquid and mousesports without breaking a sweat. All in all, an excellent showing from Astralis in their home country.
ESL Pro League Season 9 Winner: Liquid
Despite a couple of bad matches in the early stage of ESL Pro League Season 9 Finals, Liquid bounced right back. However, they had a long road in front of themselves since they had to compete in the lower bracket. North American CSGO organization defeat 3 top contenders before raising ESL Pro League Season 9 trophy. Astralis, mousesports and G2 stood no chance against fired up Liquid who cashed in on a $250,000 check.
ESL Pro League Season 10 Winner: TBA
10th edition of the ESL Pro League is just around the corner and we will make sure to provide you with standings regarding this season as they come in.
Who to bet on during the ESL CSGO Pro League
The ESL CSGO Pro League can be an excellent place to make educated bets and pull in some extra cash because all of the attending teams have plenty of past data and experience you can use to base your bets off of. Unfortunately, team rankings and performance changes drastically from season to season, which means you’ll have to be very involved with the CSGO competitive scene to know which teams are worth betting on.
Luckily, many of the betting options we listed above include competitive odds and that will give you a good idea of who is most likely to win. You can use the bookmaker odds alongside any information you know about each team to make smart bets during the CSGO ESL Pro League.
Other ESL CSGO events
Whilst the Pro League is the most important event, there are sometimes other events. An example would be the ESL Meisterschaft CSGO. Formally known as EPS Germany, this event is the highest national division of CSGO in Germany. Each season, 8 top teams will play it out for the chance to win up to 10,000 Euro.
ESL One is another ongoing series of tournaments that ESL hosts. These are usually Valve sponsored ‘Major’ tournaments and they have happened irregularly throughout the game’s competitive history.
How to enter the CSGO ESL Pro League
If you would like a shot at entering the next ESL Pro League Season, there’s only one option. You must first join the next ESEA season with your team and fight your way through the different ESEA League Tiers.
As a new team, you will start in ESEA Open. If you perform well enough, you could be promoted to the ESEA Intermediate league for the next season. After that, there’s the Main league, the Advanced League, and finally the ESEA Premier league, also now known as the ESEA Mountain Dew League.
Get first place in the Mountain Dew League and you’ll make it into the next CSGO ESL Pro League season. It’s very hard work to get there, but it is technically possible.
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