ESL Pro League Season 21: Format, Teams, Schedule and More

After the thrill that was PGL Cluj-Napoca, Counter-Strike action now continues with ESL Pro League. The 21st edition of the tournament now follows the traditional CS major format, featuring a total of 24 teams.

These teams will fight through the three-stage tournament to lift the EPL trophy and the much needed points for the VRS ranking.

Let’s take a look at what the tournament has in store for us.

ESL Pro League Season 21 Format and Teams:

The tournament will be divided into three stages: Stage 1, Stage 2 and Playoffs.

Stage 1:

• Features teams qualified via the Challenger Leagues and the bottom 4 VRS teams:
  • VRS teams
    • FURIA
    • 3DMax 
    • Eternal Fire 
    • GamerLegion 
  • ESL Challenger Teams
    • FlyQuest
    • SAW
    • HEROIC
    • Nemiga Gaming
    • M80
    • NRG
    • Tyloo
    • Lynn Vision
    • paiN Gaming
    • MIBR
    • Mindfreak
    • Housebets
• These teams will play a 16-team Swiss Stage:
  • Teams have to win 3 games before they lose 3 games to qualify for the next stage.
  • Round by Round fixtures will be according to the previous round result and seeding.
• All matches will be Bo3.
• Top 8 teams qualify for Stage 2.

Stage 2:

• Features 8 directly invited teams:
  • G2 Esports
  • Team Spirit
  • The MongolZ
  • Team Vitality
  • MOUZ
  • Natus Vincere
  • Team Falcons
  • Team Liquid
• These eight teams, along with the teams qualified via Stage 1, will play a 16-team Bo3 Swiss Stage.
• Only 8 teams qualify for the Playoffs.

Playoffs:

• Teams will be seeded based on their Stage 2 Performance into a single-elimination bracket.
• Quarterfinals and Semifinals are Bo3; Grand Finals are Bo5.

The team that survives these grueling stages and defeats all their opponents will lift the ESL Pro League Season 21 trophy.

ESL Pro League S21 Schedule

The tournament spans 15 days starting 1st of March. The schedule for the tournament is as follows:

• 1st March - 5th March: Stage 1
• 7h March - 11th March: Stage 2
• 13th March: Quarterfinals
• 14th March: Quarterfinals
• 15th March: Semifinals
• 16th March: Finals

Check out the tournament page on Strafe for round-by-round fixtures and localised schedules. 

Where to watch?

ESL will broadcast the tournament on Twitch, YouTube, and their website. The streams can be found here:

• A Stream
  • YouTube | Twitch | ESL Website
• B Stream
  • YouTube | Twitch | ESL Website

Follow ESL Pro League S21 on Strafe for live score, latest news and more.

For the latest CS2 news and guides, follow Strafe Esports. Also, check out our X account for real-time content and coverage.

Featured Image Credits: ESL Twitter

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