Are we ready to move on to a new era of Counter-Strike?
The dust is beginning to settle on the whirlwind CS2 launch. On September 27, Valve replaced CS:GO with CS2 in the Steam Library. Simply put, CS:GO was no longer playable via traditional means. So tournament organizers have had to scramble to release information about their upcoming planned events. Today ESL has announced all future ESL Pro Tour and ESL Impact events will take place on CS2.
ESL Pro Tour and Impact matches on CS2
In the past when new game updates have launched mid-tournament, organizers have usually stuck to the old patch for some time. However, with CS2 completely replacing CS:GO, there are very limited opportunities for teams to practice on Global Offensive.
In fact, the CS2 launch dropped during a ESL Pro League Season 18 playoffs match. The series had to be delayed as the organizers figured out how to continue. Ultimately, the match resumed and the organizers also announced the remainder of the tournament will take place on CS2.
A few days ago, BLAST revealed the BLAST Premier Fall Showdown events will take place on CS:GO. However, Fall Finals and subsequent BLAST Premier events will be on CS2.
Today, ESL reveled all ESL Pro Tour and Impact tournaments will be on CS2. Further, teams will prepare for the MR12 format which means shorter and hopefully more exciting matches.
Currently ongoing competitions - ESL Challenger League Season 46 North America and Asia, ESL Impact League Season 4 - will see a mix of MR15 and MR12 matches. In case of tiebreakers, a decider match will take place to settle the tie.
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Which tournaments feature CS2?
- ESL Challenger Jönköping Qualifiers: with the first match taking place on Tuesday, October 3, the qualifiers for the upcoming ESL Challenger competition in Sweden will transition to CS2 with immediate effect;
- ESL Impact League Season 4: with the first next match taking place on Wednesday, October 4, the fourth season of the all-women league will transition to CS2 with immediate effect;
- The ESL Challenger League Season 46: with the first next match taking place on Thursday, October 5, the online league for aspiring, semi-professional, and professional teams will transition to CS2 with immediate effect;
- Stay tuned as the new dates and times of the rescheduled matches for North America will be announced
- ESL Meisterschaft 2023 Season 2: with the Division 1 and 2 matches resuming on October 12 and 15 respectively, the German National Championship will transition to CS2 with immediate effect;
- Stay tuned as potential replacements for Divisions 3 to 6 will be announced via the ESL Meisterschaft channels
- ESL ANZ Champs 2023 Season 2: With the ANZ Main and Champs matches resuming on October 2 and 9 respectively, the Australian & New Zealand National Championship will transition to CS2 with immediate effect;
- Intel® Extreme Masters Sydney 2023: commencing on October 16, our upcoming IEM event down under will transition to CS2 with immediate effect;
- All ESL Counter-Strike competitions scheduled after IEM Sydney 2023 will transition to CS2. This includes the Chinese qualifiers for IEM China 2024, ESL Challenger Jönköping, ESL Challenger Atlanta, the ESL Impact S4 Finals in Valencia, and the recently announced ESL Pro Tour competitions in 2024.
Stay tuned to esports.gg for the latest CS2 news and updates.
