ESL One Cologne 2015 was the world’s most successful Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament to date. A record-breaking 22,000 people came to watch the festivities in person at the LANXESS arena during the two-day event, with over 27 million unique viewers - and a peak concurrent viewership of over 1.3 million - tuning in online to watch a combined total of almost 34 million hours of world-class Counter-Strike action.

Now ESL is excited to announced that ESL One Cologne will be returning to the LANXESS arena in 2016. From the 8th to the 10th of July, Germany’s largest indoor arena will see the globe’s top Counter-Strike teams compete for a whopping US$250,000 in prize money, with more records to be shattered at what once again promises to be the world’s largest Counter-Strike tournament.

Ulrich Schulze, VP of Pro Gaming at ESL, said of the event:

"ESL One Cologne 2015 remains an industry-record-holding event that saw epic moments realised both onscreen and off. We’re working hard at making the world’s largest Counter-Strike tournament an even greater success in 2016 and look forward to furthering our company’s long-lasting commitment to the game."

Ticket sales for ESL One Cologne 2016 will commence tomorrow, the 9th of December, exclusively on Eventim until Friday the 11th of December, and will be available from all associated ticketing agencies in Germany from the 12th of December. Ticket options range from general entry right up to the Global Elite Experience, which includes access to a private viewing lounge, high quality catering, goodie bags, front-of-the-line access to the venue and premium signing sessions as well as behind the scenes tours.

Additionally, ESL is currently working on setting up an exclusive public viewing of the UEFA Euro 2016 final, which will be taking place immediately after the conclusion of ESL One Cologne 2016. More details on this will be announced soon.

For more information about ESL One Cologne 2016, visit the official tournament website and make sure to follow ESL CS on Facebook and Twitter.

We hope to see you in Cologne!