Major ESL tournaments to transition to CS2

With the recent launch of Counter-Strike 2 on Wednesday, ESL is making significant adjustments to its ongoing and upcoming Counter-Strike competitions, marking a momentous shift in the landscape, as the community embraces the latest iteration of the beloved franchise.

Amidst the dwindling practice opportunities in CS:GO, ESL is determined to provide players and teams with the chance to hone their skills and adapt to the new CS2 environment. A breakdown of how this transition will impact some of ESL's ongoing and upcoming high-profile tournaments can be found in the announcement on their website.

As of now, the ESEA and ESL Impact Cash Cups have already embraced CS2, and the game is readily available on FACEIT. However, ESL Pro League Season 18, concluding soon, and ESEA League Season 46, wrapping up on Sunday, October 8, will continue to be played on CS:GO as previously planned.

All ESL Counter-Strike competitions scheduled after IEM Sydney 2023 will also 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.

In addition to the transition to CS2, the affected tournaments will adapt to an MR12 format. This means that ongoing competitions such as ESL Challenger League Season 46 North America and Asia, as well as ESL Impact League Season 4, will see a mix of MR15 and MR12 matches.