Photo Credit: ESL
One of the biggest CS:GO leagues, the ESL Pro League, has begun a new season. After a brief interlude from the major, the top teams in the world will compete in this league to grab one of the top spots and participate in the massive ESL Pro League finals. The league consists of two divisions, one in Europe and the other in North America, both containing 14 teams each. At the end of 10 weeks of matches, the top 6 teams from each region will earn a spot in the league finals. The 7th-11th place teams will retain their spot for the next season while the 12th-13th place teams will be given a chance to reclaim their spots in regulation. Unfortunately for the last place team, they will be auto relegated to the Premier division.
In Europe, some of the highest profile teams such as major winners, Astralis, the Swedish juggernaut, Fnatic, and many more will be participating. Already even the lower tier teams have shown they deserve their spots by taking down some of the top teams. For example, Heroic, widely considered the third best Danish team, managed to take down the legendary Ninjas in Pyjamas in both maps they played against each other. Additionally, Kinguin, the second best Polish team, defeated the international team FaZe.
In North America, the story was the opposite as the top teams and favorites defeated their opponents handily. Cloud9, OpTic, and SK, all took down their lower ranked opponents with ease. The only tie was between complexity and NRG who traded maps yesterday.
Although the league has just started a new season, look forward to 10 weeks of great games and exciting plays. Your favorite teams are shaking off the cobwebs of their break and returning to prove they are the best in the world.