Touring around the globe, ESL has brought CS:GO to big stadiums and crowds in the US, Brazil, the UK, Spain, Poland and Germany, determining a total of eight champions and showcasing how close the top teams in CS:GO are. Let’s take a look at the events and champions throughout the year.
IEM Taipei
Determining one slot for the IEM World Championship and two for the Columbus Major, IEM Taipei saw the best teams from Asia go head to head. In the end, The MongolZ beat Renegades 2-0 in the final and furthermore started their journey to take on the Western teams.
ESL Barcelona CS:GO Invitational
At this invitational, the Spanish teams gBots and x6tence got a chance to go up against some of the best teams in the world, such as later winner Fnatic, at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.
IEM Katowice
At the IEM World Championship we got to see Fnatic and Luminosity Gaming go head to head for the title, which set in motion a rivalry for a good part of 2016!
CS:GO Pro League London
In London, Luminosity Gaming once more dominated the scene and scored another title, going into the tournament as the reigning CS:GO Major champion.
ESL One Cologne
Under the banner of SK Gaming, the Brazilians once again showed their dominance, defending their CS:GO Major title at Lanxess Arena against a strong Team Liquid in the grand final.
ESL One New York
In the Barclays Center, Natus Vincere were able to not only come out on top, but win their first title in CS:GO in style, beating the Cologne finalists SK Gaming and Team Liquid, as well as Virtus.pro in the grand final.
ESL CS:GO Pro League Sao Paulo
In Sao Paulo, the scene was shaken up once more as Cloud9, by taking down SK Gaming on home turf, scored the first victory for an North American team in an international tournament!
IEM Oakland
Ninjas in Pyjamas, with a returning pyth, were able to take down a lot of favorites in their run to the title in Oakland. Besides SK Gaming in the grand final, they sent FaZe Clan, Immortals, mousesports and Cloud9 packing.
Join the crowd by getting your tickets for 2017!
In 2017, we got even more CS:GO action coming your way with your chance to join the crowd and see the champions rising. Get your tickets now to see IEM Katowice in February and March, ESL One Cologne in July or ESL One New York in September live!
Follow ESL on Facebook and Twitter to get all the remaining top photos of 2016 as well as news about the upcoming tournaments and events in the new year!
