ESEA Overhaul – More prize money, more seasons

The ESEA League system will be undergoing quite a few changes as we look towards the 2021 season. These changes include more seasons, more prize money and a clearer path to the ESL Pro League.

First and foremost, the number of seasons within ESEA will be increased from three to four, allowing players to climb divisions faster. The change will also help with the long downtimes while simultaneously asking less of a time investment from the players themselves. Season 36, the first one of 2021, will take place from January to April.

If you didn’t read the article, all of these affects take affect starting in Season 36! Sign ups are still open for a few more days, so make sure to sign up while there is still time!https://t.co/fBFYEMMGwN https://t.co/yujAiKFBS3

— ESEA (@ESEA) January 7, 2021

Qualifying for the ESL Pro League has been made easier as well, with every ESEA Season winner securing a spot. Prize money also got a sizable upgrade, increasing the prize pool for each season to 100.000 dollar split between the top eight teams of North America and Europe. Teams that perform the best within the ESEA seasons will also secure invites for the closed qualifiers of DreamHack Open events.

Brian Krämer, the General Manager of ESL CS:GO, talked about the updates in a brief interview with HLTV. “A lot of players don’t feel incentivized to actually play in MDL (Premier) and don’t see their path to becoming a pro, especially after the changes we did to ESL Pro League last year. There was still a path, but it wasn’t as ‘easy’ or good for them as it had been before.”

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