Mountain Dew and ESEA have joined forces to create new amateur tournament

Image courtesy of: ESL Twitter

The newly-formed Mountain Dew League will give thousands of amateur teams the opportunity to compete for a single slot in both the North American and European ESL Pro Leagues.

Sonika Patel, a Senior Brand Manager at Mountain Dew, had this to say about the partnership:

Esports is becoming an integral part of gaming culture. As instigators in this space, we want to push the boundaries of competitive gaming and enable everyone in this community to take part in the experience. Our partnership with ESL is unique in that it gives everyone a platform to participate on a level playing field. ”

ESEA is expanding its Premier divisions from 17 teams to 24 teams in both the North American and European regions, which will be comprised of current Premier teams, and promoted teams from the Open, Intermediate, and Main divisions. These teams will compete in an 8 week round-robin league style competition in the Mountain Dew League season.

Qualification for this new league has already begun for all the teams registered in ESEA Season 22 and newly formed teams who are not competing in Season 22 will have the chance to compete for 2 of the 24 slots in both regions at the Mountain Dew Last Chance Qualifier. This section of the competition tournament will begin on August 27 and 28 where over 7,400 hopeful players will compete in ranked matchmaking.

The series will culminate in December at the ESEA Season 23 Premier Global Challenge LAN when the 8 best teams in the North American and European regions (top 2 NA Premier teams, top 2 Europe premier teams, Brazil, Australia, Asia, South Africa regional winners) will battle for one slot in North America’s Pro League and one slot in Europe’s Pro League.

Craig Levine, CEO of ESL America, commented on the new tournament:

MDL provides a unique opportunity for aspiring professional gamers to realize their dreams on a global stage. With the popularity of esports exploding, we’re excited to partner with MTN DEW and find the next generation of Counter-Strike superstars. ”

This tournament will provide never before seen resources for prospective CS:GO stars with access to top training tools such as online tutorials and professional coaches to improve their games. Fans will be able to tune into the action and support their favorite teams through livestreamed matches, real-time stat tracking on both the ESEA and Twitch platforms, and behind-the-scenes coverage.

Stay tuned to GosuGamers for complete coverage on this brand new tournament.

Headline image courtesy of: ESEA