After numerous online pre-qualifiers and three offline qualifiers in Asia, Europe and North America, we are finally going to see the ESL One Cologne main event kick off this Thursday. With fans from all over the world looking to Cologne over the next couple of days, here’s all the information you need to not miss out on anything during the CS:GO major!

Key information

• Where? MMC studios and LANXESS Arena, Cologne, Germany
• When? 20th to the 23rd of August 2015
• Homepage: esl-one.com/csgo/cologne-2015
• Watch: Streams available in 23 languages and in cinemas

Participating teams

The participants come in two groups. The top eight of ESL One Katowice hold Legend status, with the remaining eight teams - the Challengers - having earned their spots via qualifiers.

Format

Starting with four groups of four on day one, the winners bracket will decide the first four teams to advance to the playoffs. On day two, groups will be redrawn to eliminate potential rematches and another four teams will make it through to the playoffs. All of these matches will be played as a best of one series.

The quarterfinals on Saturday as well as the semifinals and grand final on Sunday will not only see a best of three system being used but will also be played in front of a live audience at the LANXESS Arena, thus determining the winner of the sixth CS:GO major.

Talent lineup

Once again, we’ve lined up a great talent team to bring you all the CS:GO action:

• Stage Host: OJ Borg
• Desk Host: Will "Chobra" Cho
• Esports in Cinemas Host: Soe Gschwind-Penski
• Reporter: Sean Charles
• Commentator: Joe Miller
• Commentator: Leigh "Deman" Smith
• Commentator: Anders Blume
• Commentator: Auguste "Semmler" Massonnat
• Commentator: Lauren "Pansy" Scott
• Commentator: Jason Kaplan
• Commentator: Alex "Machine" Richardson
• Commentator/Analyst: Robin "Fifflaren" Johansson
• Commentator/Analyst: Jason "Moses" O'Toole
• Commentator/Analyst: Henry "HenryG" Greer
• Commentator/Analyst: Casper "Cadian" Møller
• Observer: Janko "yNK" Paunovic
• Observer: Simon "pAn" Schumacher

Tickets

Tickets for the first two days of public viewing for the groups at the ESL studios are already sold out. However, there are still some tickets left for Saturday and Sunday at the LANXESS Arena. Please buy your ticket in advance if you want to be sure of entry - we can’t guarantee how many tickets will be available on the doors!

Esports in Cinemas

Not able to witness ESL One Cologne in person but still want to watch the final with your fellow fans? Esports in Cinemas is showing the ESL One Cologne 2015 grand final at theaters near you - visit their website to find your nearest venue, order your ticket and enjoy the conclusion of the biggest CS:GO major yet together with other local fans!

Schedule

Check out a brief overview of the event schedule:

• Thursday, 20th of August, 13:45 CEST:
  Groups - winners brackets
• Friday, 21st of August, 11:45 CEST:
  Groups - elimination and decider matches
• Saturday, 22nd of August, 10:45 CEST:
  All four quarterfinals
• Sunday, 23rd of August, 11:45 CEST:
  Semifinals and grand final

CS:GO souvenir drops

While you’re following the action live, you can also earn souvenir packages that contain one weapon skin with the stickers of both competing teams as well as that particular round’s MVP’s signature in a special golden edition. For Twitch.tv viewers, you must link your Steam and Twitch account in order to receive these drops. For onsite attendees, the ESL Event app can be linked to your Steam account for a chance to receive souvenirs.

Social media

Stay up to date with all the latest about the event by keeping an eye on the following social media accounts as well as the #ESLOne hashtag.

• ESL Counter-Strike Facebook page: Facebook.com/ESLCS
• ESL Counter-Strike Twitter account: Twitter.com/ESLCS
• ESL Facebook page: Facebook.com/ESL
• ESL Twitter account: Twitter.com/ESL

We hope you enjoy the biggest CS:GO major yet!

For more information, check out the official ESL One Cologne site.