ESL Reveals Counter-Strike Esports Circuit Going Into 2025

“We’re committed to both teams and players in our continued long-term investment in Counter-Strike. As such our annual financial contribution of 11M+ USD will be dedicated towards teams and players participating in the circuit throughout both 2025 and 2026. This annual contribution to teams and players comes on top of our hospitality spend included in each event, which will continue to feature top of the line accommodation, flights, practice setups and on site hospitality. On top, teams will continue the Grand Slam competition for a chance to win the 1M USD cash prize.”

What are the events in 2025?

Amongst five IEM events planned for 2025, we will see the return of ESL's IEM Katowice and IEM Cologne, the only two Championship-level events planned for 2025. For those unaware, events have tiers of competitiveness with Championship-level at the pinnacle. As far as other events go, while the complete details are yet to be revealed, all we know for now is that there will be three Masters-level IEM stops in Dallas, Chengdu and one more undisclosed location. In summary, the following events are confirmed:

Championship-level events:

(Poland) IEM Katowice - January 29-February 9

(Germany) IEM Cologne - July 23-August 3

Masters-level events:

(Europe) ESL Pro League 21 - February 25-March 16 (Location TBD)

(TBD) IEM Spring - April 21-27 (Location TBD)

(United States) IEM Dallas - May 19-25

(Europe) ESL Pro League 22 - September 23-October 12 (Location TBD)

(China) IEM Chengdu - November 3-9

We can expect other events to be held at locations iconic to the ESL Pro Tour franchise, as EFG said: “The coming calendar year will see the return of fan-favorite locations as well as iconic selling-out arenas around the world. We believe in a global footprint, ensuring teams and fans alike get to experience thrilling competitions in all parts of the world.”

Will anything change?

EFG also went into great detail regarding the format of the aforementioned events, most remaining the same from their previous iterations except the ESL Pro League. Instead of having 32 teams, the event will feature 24 teams and the format will resemble a Major with two Swiss stages. Apart from that, another key change is in how teams will be picked for participating - instead of deciding through qualifiers, EFG is moving towards using Valve’s regional rankings.

“The major changes to the invitation process come in alignment with Valve's updated operational guidelines for Counter-Strike esports in 2025. While adhering to the new requirements, EPT is to remain true to its core values and competitive spirit, ensuring that fans and players continue to experience the highest level of competition. Going forward, all invites to qualifiers and main events will be based on the Valve Regional Standings (VRS), replacing the previously used ESL World Ranking.”

What’s 2025 looking like overall?

With ESL's announcement, the event schedule for 2025 is planned to be:

• BLAST Bounty - January 13-26
• IEM Katowice - January 29-February 9
• PGL Buenos Aires - February 13-23
• Skyesports Souvenir - February 13-23
• ESL Pro League 21 - February 25-March 16
• BLAST Open Lisbon - March 17-30
• PGL Bucharest - April 3-13
• YaLLa Compass Spring - April 15-20
• IEM Spring - April 21-27
• BLAST Rivals - April 28-May 4
• PGL Astana - May 8-18
• IEM Dallas - May 19-25
• StarLadder StarSeries S19 - May 26-June 1
• Skyesports Masters - May 26-June 1
• BLAST Austin Major - June 9-22
• IEM Cologne - July 23-August 3
• BLAST Bounty - August 4-17
• Unannounced ESL event - August 20-24
• BLAST Open London - August 25-September 7
• StarLadder StarSeries S20 - September 13-21
• Skyesports Championship - September 15-21
• ESL Pro League 22 - September 23-October 12
• CS Asia Championships - October 1-October 13
• PGL Belgrade - October 23-November 2
• IEM Chengdu - November 3-9
• Skyesports World Tour - November 10-13
• BLAST Rivals - November 10-16
• YaLLa Compass Fall - November 18-23
• Second Major - December 1-14