We are pleased to announce that ESL One Cologne 2015 is now officially a Valve Major! Set to run from August the 20th to the 23rd and to be preceded by an offline group stage, the event will see 16 of the world’s best Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams face off for their share of a massive US$250,000 prize pool.
In addition to the entire event being streamed live, community funding will help to organize an additional stream that will ensure that all group stage and playoff matches will be broadcast, with every tournament match available to watch in-client via GOTV. Furthermore, extensive behind-the-scenes and out of game footage featuring Counter-Strike players and personalities will be available on YouTube, with a whole host of special features leading up to and during the event to be made possible by Valve’s support.
The competition
The sixteen teams who’ll be competing for the ESL One Cologne prize pool are made up of eight invited and eight qualified teams: the top eight teams from ESL One Katowice and eight of the best teams from Europe, North America and Asia.
For the first time at a CS:GO Major Championship, a series of both online and offline qualifiers will take place in the leadup to the main event, with offline events set to take place in Burbank (USA), Cologne (Germany) and Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) in order to identify the eight qualifying teams. Additionally, all regional qualifiers will be available to watch live on Twitch.
Next up will be the group stage, which will unfold at the ESL arena from August the 20th to the 21st, before the playoffs at the LANXESS arena on the 22nd and 23rd of August will see competitive Counter-Strike take to the biggest stage it has ever seen.
To summarise, the schedule for ESL One Cologne 2015 is as follows:
- July 18th to 19th - Malaysian qualifier, Kuala Lumpur
- July 25th to 26th - German qualifier, Cologne
- August 1st to 2nd - USA qualifier, Burbank
- August 20th to 21st - Offline group stage, ESL arena
- August 22nd to 23rd - Playoffs, LANXESS arena
The show
As well as being able to buy tickets to watch ESL One Cologne 2015 via Eventim, those unable to attend in person will also be able to watch the event live on Twitch or in movie theaters thanks to the global ESPORTS IN CINEMAS project, which aims to bring esports to even more audiences around the world.
CS:GO fans will also have the opportunity to support their favorite teams by purchasing exclusive ESL One Cologne team stickers, which function as game pieces in the ESL One Cologne 2015 Pick’Em Challenge.
Ulrich Schulze, managing director of pro gaming at ESL, said of ESL One Cologne 2015:
“After CS:GO surpassed one million concurrent viewers at ESL One Katowice, we now intend to raise the bar even higher with ESL One Cologne. By bringing teams from all over the world to the largest indoor arena in Germany, we are confident to make it the biggest and best CS:GO event ever hosted.”
For more information about the event, head over to the official ESL One website.
