Image: ESL
Most of ESL’s currently ongoing and upcoming Counter-Strike competitions will be played on Counter-Strike 2.
Valve has sunsetted Counter-Strike: Global Offensive to debut its visually upgraded sequel Counter-Strike 2, which has predictably affected the game’s esports scene. The ESL have just announced that all upcoming and currently ongoing ESL competitions will now be played on Counter-Strike 2 instead of CS:GO as originally planned.
In an announcement, ESL admitted that the removal of CS:GO from Steam has made practice opportunities, “very limited.” Transitioning competition to Counter-Strike 2 will allow teams and players to actually practice the game they’re competing in without having to go through all sorts of backend solutions to play CS:GO. Here’s a list of all the competitions and events the ESL is transitioning to Counter-Strike 2 with immediate effect:
- ESL Challenger Jönköping Qualifiers
- ESL Impact League Season 4
- ESL Challenger League Season 46
- ESL Meisterschaft 2023 Season 2 (Potential replacements for Divisions 3-6 to be announced later)
- ESL ANZ Champs 2023 Season 2
- Intel Extreme Masters Sydney 2023
- Chinese qualifiers for IEM China 2024
- ESL Challenger Jönköping
- ESL Challenger Atlanta
- ESL Impact S4 Finals in Valencia
- ESL Pro Tour competitions in 2024
A few of these 2023 competitions will reschedule matches with new dates and times, to be detailed on ESL’s social media channels. All of these tournaments will also shift to an MR12 format rather than the old MR15. A few currently ongoing competitions, specifically the ESL Challenger League Season 46 North America and Asia, and ESL Impact League Season 4, will have a mix of MR15 and MR12 matches. A decider match will be held in the event of tiebreakers.
The ESEA and ESL Impact Cash Cups are already using Counter-Strike 2 for competition, but the ESL Pro League Season 18 (ending this week) and ESEA League Season 46 (also ending this week) will be played on CS:GO right up to the end. There you have it: the end of an era, whether players like it or not.