ESL Pro League Returns to Regional Divisions
ESL Pro League Returns to Regional Divisions
ESL have decided to reintroduce regional divisions for the eleventh season of ESL Pro League, which earlier was moved to be held online. Initially the season was meant to be played offline in Malta, with teams from different regions competing together.
The European region will see 18 participants, with BIG and Team Spirit replacing Heroic and BOOM Esports. The North American division will consist of 6 squads, with Swole Patrol replacing Renegades and one team remaining unknown as Sharks Esports were unable to participate in the tournament. The teams who were unable to participate to due safety concerns will regain their slots in the league.
The European teams have been seeded into three groups with round-robin format. Group A matches will be played on March 16-24th, Group B series are scheduled for March 17-24th, while Group C games will be held on March 26th – April 3rd. The groups look as follows:
| Group A | Group B | Group C |
| Astralis | BIG | FaZe Clan |
| ENCE | Complexity Gaming | G2 Esports |
| GODSENT | Fnatic | mousesports |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | forZe | OG |
| Team Spirit | Natus Vincere | TyLoo |
| Team Vitality | North | Virtus.pro |
The North American teams, among which are Evil Geniuses, Team Liquid, 100 Thieves, FURIA Esports and Swole Patrol, will compete in a single group with round-robin format, the matches of which will be played between March 26th – April 1st.
The final stage, which was planned to be held in April in Denver, United States, has been cancelled. Instead, both regions will have their own final championships held online.