The ESL Pro League (EPL) returns to St. Julian’s, Malta, for Season 19 on April 23 – May 12, 2024. The world’s biggest Counter-Strike league will see teams from around the world arrive on-site for three weeks of non-stop action, and only one team will emerge victorious as Champions.

Here is all you need to know about ESL Pro League Season 19

The 19th Season of the ESL Pro League will see the 32 best Counter-Strike teams compete for a total prize pool of $750,000, a win in the race to secure Intel® Grand Slam V, and a spot at IEM Cologne 2024. Commencing on April 23, contenders from around the globe will face off in Malta for a spot in the Playoffs. There, the six best teams will compete live in front of an intimate live audience at the InterContinental Malta on May 10 – 12, 2024.

Starting with the upcoming season, EPL will see some improvements to its schedule. While the number of teams and the tournament structure remain the same compared to recent seasons, the duration of the tournament has been adjusted to three weeks instead of five. To accommodate this change, two groups will be played simultaneously during the Group Stage, resulting in a more intense story for fans to follow.

Schedule and Format

Group Stage (April 23 – May 5):

• Four groups of eight teams will compete in separate triple-elimination brackets
  • All matches are best-of-three
• The top four teams from each group will advance to the Playoffs
  • Group Stage winners advance to the Quarterfinals
  • The Group Stage runner-ups advance to the Round of 12
  • The Group Stage third and fourth-place teams advance to the Round of 16

Playoffs (May 7 – 12):

• The top sixteen teams will compete in a single-elimination bracket
  • All matches will be best-of-three, excluding the Grand Final which will be best-of-five
  • The third and fourth Quarterfinals, as well as both Semifinals and the Grand Final will be played out live on stage in front of an audience

Teams Attending

• Astralis (Partner Team)
• BIG (Partner Team)
• Complexity (Partner Team)
• ENCE (Partner Team)
• FaZe Clan (Partner Team)
• Fnatic (Partner Team)
• FURIA (Partner Team)
• G2 Esports (Partner Team)
• HEROIC (Partner Team)
• MOUZ (Partner Team)
• Natus Vincere (Partner Team)
• Ninjas in Pyjamas (Partner Team)
• Team Liquid (Partner Team)
• Team Vitality (Partner Team)
• Monte (ESL Challenger Jönköping winner)
• Virtus.pro (ESL Challenger Atlanta winner)
• SAW (ESL World Ranking)
• Team Falcons (ESL World Ranking)
• GamerLegion (ESL World Ranking)
• BetBoom Team (ESL World Ranking)
• Eternal Fire (ESL World Ranking)
• 3DMAX (ECL S46 Europe winner)
• FORZE (ECL S46 Europe runner-up)
• M80 (ECL S46 North America winner)
• BOSS (ECL S46 North America runner-up)
• The MongolZ (ECL S46 Asia-Pacific winner)
• TYLOO (ECL S46 Asia-Pacific runner-up)
• Imperial Esports (South American Qualifier winners)
• Sharks Esports (South American Qualifier winners)
• Pera Esports (European Conference winner)
• Bad News Kangaroos (Oceanic Qualifier winner)
• FlyQuest (ANZ Champs winner)

Prize Money (USD)

Broadcast Talent

• Hosts
  • “Tres “stunna” Saranthus
  • Freya “Freya” Spiers
• A Stream
  • Jason “moses” O’Toole
  • Janko “YNk” Paunović
  • Mathieu “Maniac” Quiquerez
  • Harry “Harry” Russell
  • Hugo “Hugo” Byron
  • Henry “Henry” Greer
  • Chad “SPUNJ” Burchill
  • Alex “Machine” Richardson
• B Stream
  • Neo “Ne0kai” Caine
  • Harvey “Skriv” Rodgers
  • Lucy “LucyLuce” Eastwood
  • Brandon “BDog” Rawlings
  • Travis “Trav” Landaw Mott

Where to Watch

The live broadcast will be available on FACEIT Watch, ESL FACEIT Group’s premier esports viewing platform created by esports fans for esports fans and open for all.

Featuring a unique multi-perspective view selector where users can watch their favorite player’s perspective directly next to the main event stream, a live chat, a kill cam, live-generated replays of key moments, a sound mixer, a rewards program, and more, FACEIT Watch revolutionises esports streaming by putting fans in control of their viewing experience.

Fans can also watch the action on the ESL Counter-Strike Twitch and YouTube channels. For those unable to tune in live, all matches will also be available to watch on-demand for free via YouTube.

For more information about ESL Pro League Season 19, and the latest updates on the event, please visit the official website, and follow ESL Counter-Strike on X, Facebook, and Instagram.

Mind Sports South Africa’s (MSSA) 2024 Online Championships held on 13 April 2024 showed sterling results.
The championship was yet another chance for many esports athletes to qualify for MSSA’s National Team Trials to be held on 25 May 2024 at which the team will be selected to officially represent South Africa at the African Qualifiers which lead up to IESF’s 16th World Esports Championships to be held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in October and November 2024..

All Registered Players who have finished in the top three places, or the top 20% – whichever is greater, are entitled to enter trials.

However, it must be remembered that all players must have a valid passport to participate in the National Team Trials.

It was indeed exciting to watch just how much all the female teams have improved.

Team ATK Oshun (ATK Club Sport) being a female team astounded all with their skill and sportsmanship. The team demolished all ATK Club Sport opposition to ultimately won the premier event overall and qualify for the National Team trials to be held on 25 May 2025.

IESF’s 15th World Championships will be played to the following titles:

• Counter-Strike 2
• Counter-Strike 2 – Female division
• DotA 2
• eFootball
• Mobile Legends, Bang Bang
• Mobile Legends, Bang Bang – Female division
• PUBGM

The high standard of play saw 37 Registered Players from six provinces being awarded Provincial Colours. Only Limpopo, Free State, and Northern Cape did not have Registered Players who did not earn provincial colours.

In a groundbreaking move, the Directorate of Sports and Youth Services of the Government of Maharashtra has rewarded a significant amount of INR 10 lakhs to each Esports athlete of the state who represented India in the Asian Games 2022, held in Hangzhou. This marks a historic moment for Indian Esports, as it is the first time any state has included Esports alongside mainstream sports in prize money rewards for its state players in a major tournament. The recipients of this monetary reward include Darshan Bata, captain of the DOTA 2 team, along with his teammates Krish Gupta, Ketan Goyal, and Shubham Goli, as well as League of Legends athlete Samarth Trivedi.

Expressing his gratitude, Darshan Bata, the captain of the DOTA 2 team who hails from Mumbai, said, “I would like to express my sincere thanks to ESFI and the Maharashtra government for honoring us and recognizing and supporting Esports.”

Esports made its debut as a full-fledged medal event at the Asian Games 2022, where a total of 476 athletes from 30 different countries competed for gold medals across seven titles. India participated in four of these titles, including DOTA 2, EA Sports FC Online, League of Legends, and Street Fighter V: Champion Edition.

“It has been a great experience at Asian games, I am grateful for the support I received from the Maharashtra government and I really appreciate the efforts ESFI has contributed to our journey,” stated Ketan Goyal of Pune who was a part of the DOTA 2 team at the Asian Games 2022.

The talented Indian contingent for the Asian Games was sent by Esports Federation of India (ESFI), who had organized open for all nationwide online qualifiers to select the best and most deserving athletes to compete for the nation at the tournament.

“Really happy to see that Esports is getting recognized and we are being aided by the government. Thank you for the support to Maharashtra Government and a big shoutout to ESFI for giving us this opportunity to represent India in the Asian games,” highlighted Krish Gupta of Pune, a member of the Indian DOTA 2 team.

The League of Legends team, in particular, achieved a historic fifth-place finish at the 19th Asian Games after competing against top-tier teams from around the continent.

“I am really grateful to the Maharashtra government for providing us with the financial support. It is amazing to see Esports being recognized by the Government. A huge shoutout to ESFI for giving us the opportunity and platform to compete at the Asian Games 2022 in Hangzhou,” commented Samarth Trivedi of Thane who played a pivotal part in the country’s performance in League of Legends at the tournament.

Prior to the 19th Asian Games, India had also secured a remarkable bronze medal at the Commonwealth Esports Championships in DOTA 2, showcasing the country’s prowess in video gaming on the international stage.

“Thank you ESFI and team for all you support throughout Asian games 2022. We are really blessed and honored by Maharashtra Government for supporting Esports players and considering Esports in events like Commonwealth and Asian Games,” noted Shubham Goli, a resident of Pune who represented India at both the Commonwealth Esports Championships as well as the Asian Games 2022 in DOTA 2. The latest FICCI-EY report titled ‘#Reinvent: India’s media & entertainment sector is innovating for the future, India is expected to have 20 international teams by 2024.

The Maharashtra government’s recognition and support of Esports signals a significant milestone in the journey towards mainstream acceptance of competitive gaming as a legitimate sport in the country.