ESL Pro League events are some of the top Tier 1 Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournaments every year. The ESL circuit makes the EPL one of the only tournaments where Tier 2 and even Tier 3 teams can play against the best teams CS:GO has to offer.
ESL Pro League Season 15
EPL Season 15 will be streamed on Twitch via ESL’s official English and Russian-language streams. The event will begin with a group stage that will involve four six-team groups playing one after another. Each team in a group plays each other in best of three’s through a single round-robin format.
The top three teams from each of the four groups will advance to the next stage of the competition with the no. 1 team moving directly to quarterfinals. Second and third-place teams fight it out in the round of 12. Playoffs are single-elimination and culminate in a best of five grand finals.
The teams competing at ESL Pro League Season 15 are as follows:
Group A (March 9-13)
- G2 Esports
- Ninjas in Pyjamas
- Entropiq
- Fnatic
- MOUZ
- LookingForOrg
Group B (March 16-20)
- Team Vitality
- Outsiders (roster of Virtus.pro)
- FaZe Clan
- FURIA Esports
- ENCE
- Sprout
Group C (March 23-27)
- Team Liquid
- GODSENT
- BIG
- Movistar Riders
- Party Astronauts
Group B (March 30-April 3)
- Natus Vincere
- Heroic
- Astralis
- Complexity Gaming
- Evil Geniuses
- AGO
Two changes happened to the original team lineup when ESL made the decision to ban Russian-based teams with “apparent ties” to the Russian government. These teams were Gambit Esports and Virtus.pro.
On Monday, Virtus.pro announced that they would play the EPL without their organization, under the name Outsiders. No decision has been announced yet regarding whether or not Gambit will play without their org’s name and jersey.
ESL Pro League Season 15 will begin March 9 and run through April 10. Matches will be played in ESL’s studio venue in Düsseldorf, Germany. Teams are competing a share of $823,000, with the first place team taking home $175,000. Natus Vincere will be looking to bounce back from a disappointing result at IEM Katowice to reclaim their EPL title.
