Ubisoft has announced the latest updates coming to the ESL Pro League Season 11. The league will recommence March 18, with map pool updates and new Operators entering professional play.
Kali and Wamai to be made available in ESL Pro League Season 11 (Image courtesy Ubisoft)
Pro League Returns
The ESL Pro League returns later this month with different start dates for each region. APAC will kick off the return on March 18, with EU and NA on March 23 and LATAM on March 24. The league will continue to use two playdays a week for all main leagues. NA will continue playing on Monday and Wednesday, with LATAM occupying Tuesday and Thursday.
The return of the ESL Pro League marks the second split of the Season. The top two teams from each region will then head to São Paulo for the ESL Pro League Season 11 Finals May 16-17. This is the final ESL Pro League Final, as Ubisoft will move to four majors a year, with one every three months.
Pro League Map Pool Update
For the first time, Theme Park will come to the map pool. Theme Park will replace Bank. Ubisoft cites the reason is to give pro players the most competitive environment possible. Bank is a map that has been a competitive staple for a long time. Replacing the map will keep the pool fresh for pros.
Theme Park is a defender sided map, with plenty of rotations and difficult access points for attackers. With the map entering Pro League, we will see how that changes up.
Also, there will no longer be automatic map bans for the maps two competing teams played the match before. Now teams will have to adapt their map veto strategy ahead of the games.
The official map rotation will be: Theme Park, Clubhouse, Kafe, Consulate, Border, Coastline, Villa.
New Operators
With the three-month probation period over for Operation Shifting Tides, Kali and Wamai will be available for professional play. Kali is the new bolt action sniper for the attacking side. She fills a very specific niche but has the power to greatly impact rounds. As for Wamai, his place is to be a valued alternative to Jaeger.
Whether these operators are played or not is yet to be known. However, they could become meta or used as pocket picks for individual strategies. Either way, their inclusion to the remainder of Season 11 will certainly be interesting to monitor.
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The official schedule for ESL Pro League matches is yet to be confirmed. Check back on the ESL Pro League website to see when your favorite team is playing.
