The 2016 season for the ESL Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Pro League has launched, featuring 24 professional teams and a $1.5 million prize pool for the season and championship bracket.
According to the esports league, ESL Pro League has enjoyed a steady growth over the past few years, increasing its prize pool 50% consistently each year. The league generated over 100 million sessions and almost 30 million hours in live stream viewership in 2015, and the league anticipates growth in 2016.
”The ESL Counter-Strike: Global Offensive Pro League is levelling up this year: we’ll be working on enabling larger offline crowds to follow the action as players battle in matches that could define the rest of their lives,” noted VP Ulrich Schulze in a press statement. ”But it’s not just offline audiences we’re aiming for - television broadcasts, a higher standard of online production, a continued emphasis on competitive integrity - these are just some of the things you will see this year.”
Last year’s ESL One Cologne championship provided the world’s largest and most-watched Counter-Strike event of all time, reaching a peak concurrent viewership of 1.3 million gamers. ESL Pro League expects even higher numbers for the 2016 edition.
The first season of 2016 will launch on February 9th, with the Finals being held sometime in May. $750K of the purse will be paid during the regular season to the pro teams, which are based in European and North American regions. The teams vying for the prize pool include:
Europe
- Fnatic
- Natus Vincere
- Question Mark (formerly Team SoloMid)
- EnVyUs
- Titan
- Team Dignitas
- Ninjas in Pyjamas
- mousesports
- Virtus.pro
- SK Gaming
- FlipSid3 Tactics
- Wildcard Slot
USA
- Team Liquid
- Luminosity Gaming
- OpTic Gaming
- Counter Logic Gaming
- compLexity
- Cloud9 G2A
- Splyce.gg
- EnemyGG
- Sponsorless
- Method
- Winterfox
- Wildcard Slot
