ESL Pro League CSGO has unveiled a new format going into Season 9 which will see a multitude of changes.
ESL Pro League CSGO has unveiled a new format going into Season 9 which will see a multitude of changes. (Photo courtesy of Bart Oerbekke
ESL confirmed the changes are a result of talks with World Esports Association (WESA) in which they agreed that the current Pro League was time-consuming.
Going forward, the regular season will be played in three separate regions: Europe, The Americas and Asia- Pacific. Each region will be divided into four groups of four teams with seeding based on the ESL World Ranking. ESL confirmed that they hope smaller groups will make matches more exciting and relevant towards the finals.
APAC matches will remain online, however, EU and NA games will now be hosted offline. EU games will be hosted at the ESL studio in the United Kingdom and the AM region will be hosted in an unconfirmed studio location in the United States.
Format
The regular season will consist of two group rounds with each region having a slightly different format.
Europe
Round 1: Four groups of four teams. Group winners qualify directly for the Finals. Second and third from each group move on to Round 2.
Round 2: Two groups of four. Group winners and second place qualify for the Finals.
Americas
Round 1: Four groups of four teams. Three groups for NA teams, one group for LATAM teams. Group winners qualify directly for the Finals. Group second and third place move on to Round 2.
Round 2: Two groups of four. Group winners qualify for the Finals.
Asia-Pacific
Round 1: Four groups of four teams. Two groups for ANZ teams, one group for CN, one group for SEA. Group winners and second place from each group move on to Round 2.
Round 2: Two groups of four, one for ANZ, one for CN/SEA. Group winners qualify for the Finals.
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Teams for the ESL Pro League CSGO are yet to be announced but all the action is set to kick off on Friday, April 12.
