ESL national champions will advance to ESL Pro Tour

In a bid to further provide lower-tier teams with the opportunity to compete on bigger stages, ESL has updated the qualifying model for the Challenger level tournaments.

The winners of the ESL Pro European Championships will now receive a direct invite to a closed qualifier for a Master event. This means they get the chance to fight their way into Masters Championship events like IEM Katowice. They will also receive spots at specific DreamHack Open events, with winners earning a place at ESL Pro Tour Masters. Then there’s the opportunity to compete in the ESL Pro League through MDL Relegation. 

Head of National Championships, Ana Oliveras said in a statement:

"The general goal is to connect all levels at all open ends, all tournaments in various ways. National teams should be able to make a clear way to the top without getting stones in the way. The ESL Pro Tour embodies exactly that: In order to compete in elite CS:GO gameplay at a Masters level, the way leads teams either via the DreamHack journey or via LAN Qualifiers slots paving the way to ESL and DreamHack mega tournaments".

The 2019 British and German Champions will receive invitations to DreamHack Open Anaheim and Leipzig, respectively. If they win, they advance to DreamHack Masters Jönköping in June. Also, the winners of the 2020 ESL National Championship will advance to DreamHack Open events and, if successful, a Masters event.

This addition to ESL’s playbook is a great initiative that should go a long way in helping amateur and semi-pro teams quickly rise up the ranks to take their place among the pros without too much hassle.