ESL reveals key details for 2025 CS2 Pro Tour

ESL has announced the first details about its 2025 ESL Pro Tour, with five IEM destinations and two ESL Pro League events planned for next year. This in addition to $22M USD will be dedicated towards teams participating in the circuit throughout both 2025 and 2026.

The 2025 schedule will see the return of iconic IEM Katowice and Cologne as the only two Championship-level events, while the rest of tournaments are Masters-level IEMs with the usual two ESL Pro Leagues per year.

ESL also revealed changes to the invitation process to come in alignment with Valve's updated operational guidelines for Counter-Strike esports in 2025. Going forward, all invites to qualifiers and main events will be based on the Valve Regional Standings (VRS) to determine all participants of IEM Katowice, Cologne, Chengdu and Spring, replacing the previously used ESL World Ranking.

Announced ESL 2025 events:

ESL Pro Tour Championships:

• IEM Katowice 2025: January 29th – February 9th
• IEM Cologne 2025: July 23rd – August 3rd

ESL Pro Tour Masters:

In Masters-level IEM tournaments, 16 teams will compete, and there will no longer be best-of-one opening matches. Instead, all group stage matches will be played in a best-of-three format, ensuring a more balanced and competitive environment from the start.

• ESL Pro League Season 21 (Location TBD): February 25th – March 16th
• IEM Spring 2025 (Location TBD): April 21st – 27th
• IEM Dallas 2025: May 19th – 25th
• ESL Pro League Season 22 (Location TBD): September 23rd – October 12th
• IEM Chengdu 2025: November 3rd – 9th

Pro League format changes:

Entering the new year, ESL will include big changes to the ESL Pro League format and will now feature 24 teams competing, instead of 32 in the past two years, with the use of Swiss Tournament Format.

ESL Pro League stages:

• Stage 1
  • Consists of 16 teams competing in a Swiss Tournament Format.
  • All matches will be best-of-three.

• Stage 2
  • Consists of eight Global VRS invites and eight teams advancing from Stage 1.
  • 16 teams will compete in a Swiss Tournament Format.
  • All matches will be best-of-three
• Playoffs
  • Features the top eight teams from Stage 2.
  • Quarterfinals and Semifinals will feature a best-of-three format.
  • The Grand Final will be played as a best-of-five.

"The EPT for Counter-Strike 2 is the definition of EFG’s commitment to fostering a fruitful competitive environment and continually nourishing Counter-Strike’s heritage, as we’ve done since 2000." – Marc Winther, Director Game Ecosystems - at ESL FACEIT Group.

No ESL Major?

A noteworthy detail is the absence of an ESL Major. The second CS2 Major, scheduled for December, has not been announced yet, making it less likely for ESL to host it. If this trend continues, it will mean that by the time 2026 arrives, it will have been four years since the last ESL-hosted Major, a significant gap in the tournament calendar for one of the scene’s most prominent organizers.

Further information, including detailed event specifics and other relevant updates, will be disclosed at a later date. Also, details about the event originally scheduled for August 20-24 will be addressed in a separate announcement.

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Featured Image source: ESL

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