New ESEA changes annouced
There is good news for the lower-ranked tier teams.
Today new changes to the ESEA leagues were annouced.
In 2021 there will be following changes.
ESEA will increase the number of seasons within its league system from three to four seasons a year.
Season 36: January - April
Season 37: May - July*
Season 38: August - October
Season 39: October - December
The change to four seasons will also apply to the highest division in the ESEA league, the Premier division, formerly MDL, which will result in the removal of the “training season”. All four seasons in Europe and North America will qualify the winner directly into the following ESL Pro League season through their regional division. This means every ESL Pro League season features 4 teams from ESEA Premier - 2x European and 2x North American.
Moreover, the prize money for each season will be increased to US$100,000 per season and will be split across the top eight for EU and NA, respectively.
The last upgrade for ESEA Premier will be an uplift in coverage quality. The goal is to broadcast the highlight matches of each week on Tuesday (starting February 2nd) through a remote virtual studio and do a full studio production for the playoffs, should the pandemic allow it. The highlight matches will be shown on ESL’s official Twitch CS channel to reach a larger audience with the improved broadcast quality. This will be supported by live coverage from ESL CS’s social media channels.