One of CS:GO’s biggest competitions is getting a new look in 2020, as reports surfaced today that ESL would be making changes to the format of the ESL Pro League ahead its 11th season.

Previous seasons of the Pro League had a total of 48 teams competing to make the finals. These teams were broken up into three separate groups with those being Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific with each region having 16 slots available. The season culminated with a 16 team finals, with Europe and North America sending 6 teams a piece, and Asia-Pacific sending the final two.

However, it was reported by DBLTAP.com’s Jerek “dekay” Lewis that the tournament organizer would be tweaking the format heading into the competition’s upcoming season. The main change mentioned, is that ESL will reportedly merge the four regions (Europe, North America, Asia, and Pacific) into a single 24 team pool, which would effectively cut the number of teams competing in half.

Currently, it is unknown exactly how ESL will decide which teams will return in Season 11. Lewis’ sources think that it’s a combination of teams that have agreed to the league’s terms, those that participated in last season’s finals, those who have won the Mountain Dew League, and based on ESL’s own world rankings. The following teams are currently mentioned in the article as having an invite to season 11:

  • Evil Geniuses FNATIC Astralis Team Liquid G2 Esports Natus Vincere FaZe Clan CompLexity Mousesports Ninjas in Pyjamas ENCE 100 Thieves Team Vitality Cloud9 MIBR North Heroic TyLoo Sharks Renegades forZe INTZ FURIA Virtus.pro

This should be considered a positive change for the Pro League for a number of reasons. A number of people in the industry have commented on the fact that tournament organizers are struggling to make a profit off events, so ESL is likely looking to reduce costs by halving the number of teams participating. This should hopefully allow them to have healthier finances, which in turn would allow them to invest more in growing their operations

This change is also good for those who value a high level of competitiveness in competitions. With fewer slots available, it’ll mean that teams will have to up their game if they want to participate, which should mean that the quality of play will improve as well.

How this change will affect the Pro League will remain to be seen over the two seasons that will occur in 2020. It will also be dependant on which teams commit to remaining with ESL, and which decide to play in the new B-Site project. Overall, we should be excited to see what ESL Pro League will offer us when it kicks off in a month and a half’s time.