One of the biggest global Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS: GO) events of the year in the world of eSports, ESL Pro League Season 18 is all set to begin on August 30 and will continue till October 1 in St. Julians, Malta at the grand InterContinental Malta hotel.
As many as 32 teams will be participating in ESL Pro League Season 18 and they will be battling it out for a total prize pool of $850,000, with the winner of the tournament taking home $200,000.
The winner of this event will also be awarded slots for the BLAST World Final 2023 and IEM Katowice 2024 - two of the biggest events in the eSports calendar.
ESL Pro League 2023 format
As far as the format for ESL Pro League Season 18 goes, the tournament will be divided into a Group Stage followed by Playoffs. The Group Stage which is the initial phase of the tournament kickstarts on August 30.
In the Group Stage, all 32 participating teams will be divided into four triple-elimination format groups with eight teams in each group.
All Group Stage matches will follow best-of-three encounters with the winner of each group progressing to the Playoffs' quarter-finals, while the second-placed teams move on to the Round of 12, and the third to fourth-placed teams advance to the Round of 16.
In the Playoffs stage, the 16 remaining teams will take part in a single-elimination bracket, with best-of-three matches apart from the Grand Final, which will feature a best-of-five contest.
Of the 32 teams participating in ESL Pro League Season 18, as many as 15 are a part of the ESL Permanent Partners program, thereby receiving a direct invitation to compete in the tournament.
Meanwhile, the remaining 17 teams qualified for the tournament through the numerous highly competitive regional qualifiers to earn a slot in ESL Pro League 2023.
ESL Pro League 2023 teams
Permanent Partner Teams
Astralis: blameF, dev1ce, Buzz, Staehr, b0RUP
BIG: tabseN, Krimbo, prosus, s1n, mantuu
Complexity Gaming: JT, floppy, Grim, hallzerk, EliGE
ENCE: Snappi, dycha, maden, SunPayus, NertZ
Evil Geniuses: autimatic, Walco,Jeorge, junior, HexT
FaZe Clan: rain, broky, Twistzz, karrigan, ropz
Fnatic: KRIMZ, mezii, roeJ, afro, dexter
FURIA Esports: huurih, arT, KSCERATO, FalleN, chelo
G2 Esports: huNter-, NiKo, m0NESY, jks, HooXi
Heroic: stavn, cadiaN, TeSeS, sjuush, Jabbi
MOUZ: frozen, torzsi, xertioN, siuhy, Jimpphat
Natus Vincere: s1mple, b1t, Aleksib, jL, iM
Ninjas in Pyjamas: REZ, hampus, Brollan, headtr1ck, k0nfig
Team Liquid: NAF, oSee, YEKINDAR, Rainwaker, Patsi
Team Vitality: apEX, ZywOo, Magisk, Spinx, flameZ
ESL World Ranking
9INE (ESL World Ranking): Goofy, KEi, Kylar, mynio, hades
Cloud9 (ESL World Ranking): sh1ro, Ax1Le, HObbit,electroNic, Perfecto
GamerLegion (ESL World Ranking): isak, acoR, Keoz, volt, neaLan
Movistar Riders (ESL Challenger Melbourne): mopoz, ALEX, Martinez, JUST, adamS
Virtus.pro (ESL Challenger Katowice): Jame, LK1T, fame, n0rb3r7, Mir
International Qualifiers
Monte (ECL S44 Europe): Woro2k, DemQQ, sdy, mr0, kRaSnaL
MIBR (ECL S44 North America): exit, brnz4n, insani, drop, saffee
Lynn Vision Gaming (ECL S44 Asia-Pacific): westmelon, z4kr, Starry, Emilia, Jee
Apeks (ECL S45 Europe): nawwk, STYKO, jkaem, kyxsan, CacaNito
M80 (ECL S45 North America): reck, Swisher, WolfY, malbsMd, maNkz
5yclone (ECL S45 Asia-Pacific): JamYoung, Moseyuh, Mercury, kaze, advent
Eternal Fire (European Conference): Calyx, woxic, Wicadia, MAJ3R, XANTARES
ORKS (European Conference): olimp, xNx, mwlky, Vegi, HS
Imperial Esports (Brasil Premier League): boltz, VINI, JOTA, HEN1, felps
Grayhound Gaming (ANZ Champs): Sico, INS, aliStair, Liazz, Vexite
9z Team (South American Qualifier): dgt, max, dav1deuS, buda, try
Rooster (Oceanic Qualifier): asap, ADK, nettik, chelleos, TjP
ESL Pro League 2023 groups
Group A
FURIA Esports
Movistar Riders
GamerLegion
Grayhound Gaming
Team Vitality
ORKS
Ninjas in Pyjamas
Astralis
Group B
Heroic
Rooster
BIG
Monte
MOUZ
MIBR
ENCE
Evil Geniuses
Group C
M80
Apeks
5yclone
Natus Vincere
9z Team
FaZe Clan
Imperial Esports
Fnatic
Group D
Team Liquid
Virtus.pro
G2 Esports
Lynn Vision
9INE
Complexity Gaming
Cloud9
Eternal Fire
ESL Pro League 2023 schedule
Group A
Wednesday, August 30 (Upper Bracket quarter-finals)
FURIA Esports vs Movistar Riders
GamerLegion vs Grayhound Gaming
Team Vitality vs ORKS
Ninjas in Pyjamas vs Astralis
Group B
Wednesday, September 6 (Upper Bracket quarter-finals)
Heroic vs Rooster
BIG vs Monte
MOUZ vs MIBR
ENCE vs Evil Geniuses
Group C
Wednesday, September 13 (Upper Bracket quarter-finals)
M80 vs Apeks
5yclone vs Natus Vincere
9z Team vs FaZe Clan
Imperial Esports vs Fnatic
Group D
Wednesday, September 20 (Upper Bracket quarter-finals)
Team Liquid vs Virtus.pro
G2 Esports vs Lynn Vision
9INE vs Complexity Gaming
Cloud9 vs Eternal Fire
Where to watch ESL Pro League 2023 live in India?
Live streaming of ESL Pro League 2023 will be available on the primary and secondary live streams on the official ESL Gaming YouTube and Twitch channels.
Photo credit: Alamy
