Competitive gaming is about starting your own path, challenging your game, and aiming to become a World Champion one day. This is at the core of what ESL and FACEIT have been building over the last twenty years, and now we are teaming up.

We are excited to share the news of the merger between ESL and FACEIT that will elevate the landscape of esports with the help of our new investors, Savvy Gaming Group.* If you’d like to know more about the ESL FACEIT Group, please see our press release here.

For years, both companies have been developing projects independently in esports. Today we are teaming up to create more integrated, accessible and sustainable ecosystems for fans, players and teams of multiple games.

Our brands (FACEIT, DreamHack, ESL, ESEA, and Badlion) will continue operating as before. Each in its own style. You can still grind on FACEIT and FPL, rank up on ESEA Leagues, watch great matches play out at IEM Katowice, and be part of the gaming community at DreamHack festivals.

By working together within the same group, we are in a better position to make long term investments and create strong synergies across multiple products to support the development of competitive gaming.

Principles and Directions

As our teams come together, we would like to share the direction we want to take across games.

• Show players their “path to pro” and the progress they make. Discover rising stars. We will expand our offering of online competitions and integrate them directly into the professional team circuits. Our focus will be on developing strong coaching and learning programs at the amateur level while simultaneously using our professional esports broadcasts to elevate and tell the stories of up-and-coming teams and players.
• Support more players, in more regions. Help grassroots development and local scenes take their place in a global community. In order to allow for true global competition, we are mixing online play with amateur and professional LAN events to build a stable grassroots level. Independent tournament organizers will be supported in building their local competitions and global representation.
• Further develop our tools and technology to give everyone access to smooth and fair competitive environments. Competition is only legitimized through equal and fair experiences for all players. We will continue to aggressively develop our server infrastructure, tournament tools, and anti-cheat solutions across multiple games to provide a level playing field. This technology will continue to be accessible to everyone for free.

First things first

We are already hard at work on some of the immediate initiatives. Check out the following links for a first glimpse of our first programs in CS:GO, a community we’re deeply rooted in. This list will continue to grow - and more games will be covered.

Thank you for being a part of the esports journey. You: The players, fans and colleagues bring all of this to life.

GLHF,

Your ESL & FACEIT Team

* The approval process is expected to close in Q2 2022, pending regulatory approval.