We’re back for another round of ESL Pro League, with the 20th season kicking off on Sept. 3 seeing a massive 32 teams from far and wide compete for the lion’s share of a $750,000 USD prize pool.
BLAST Premier points are also up for grabs, but eyes will be on Malta this month as this is set to be the last Pro League as we know it in this format. ESL, among the other big Counter-Strike 2 tournament organizers, will be adjusting their events for 2025 and beyond thanks to the open circuit change-up.
MOUZ has won the previous two editions of EPL—can the European squad make it three in a row? Here’s everything you need to know about ESL Pro League Season 20.
ESL Pro League Season 20 format and teams
ESL Pro League Season 20 features one of the most in-depth formats in modern Counter-Strike, featuring a huge 32 teams battling through four groups of eight over the course of two weeks. Each group features a “triple” elimination bracket: The two teams from the upper bracket final, the middle bracket winner, and the lower bracket winner all progress to the playoffs.
Each match is a best-of-three. The winner of the upper bracket starts the playoff run in the quarterfinals, meaning there’s everything to play for in the earlier stage of the tournament. The loser of the upper-bracket final begins in the final 12, while the middle and lower-bracket winners start in the round of 16.
The playoffs are single-elimination, so a successful group stage means teams skip a huge chunk of the final bracket. Here are the CS2 teams participating in ESL Pro League Season 20.
| Group A | Group B | Group C | Group D |
|---|---|---|---|
| FaZe Clan | Team Spirit | MOUZ | Team Vitality |
| FlyQuest | MIBR | BIG | FURIA |
| HEROIC | The MongolZ | Complexity | Team Liquid |
| Lynn Vision | KOI | Fnatic | RED Canids |
| NAVI | G2 Esports | Astralis | Virtus.pro |
| Ninjas in Pyjamas | 3DMAX | M80 | ENCE |
| Eternal Fire | 9z | Imperial | Falcons |
| Sangal Esports | Wildcard | Rooster | ATOX Esports |
ESL Pro League Season 20 schedule and results
Group Stage
Group A – Sept. 3 to 8
Tuesday, Sept. 3
- 6:30am: FlyQuest vs. Eternal Fire
- 6:30am: Lynn Vision vs. NAVI
- 9:30am: FaZe vs. Sangal
- 9:30am: HEROIC vs. NiP
Wednesday, Sept. 4
- 9:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- Winner qualifies for playoffs.
- 9:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- Loser falls to lower bracket.
- 12:30pm: TBD vs. TBD
- Winner qualifies for playoffs.
- 12:30pm: TBD vs. TBD
- Loser falls to lower bracket.
Thursday, Sept. 5
- 12:30pm: TBD vs. TBD
- Loser falls to lower bracket.
- 12:30pm: TBD vs. TBD
- Loser falls to lower bracket.
Friday, Sept. 6
- 9:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- 9:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- Mid bracket final. Winner qualifies for round of 16.
Saturday, Sept. 7
- 6:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- 9:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- 12:30pm: TBD vs. TBD
- Upper bracket final. Winner qualifies for quarterfinals, loser qualifies for top 12.
Sunday, Sept. 8
- 6:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- Lower bracket final. Winner qualifies for top 16, loser is eliminated.
Group B – Sept. 3 to 8
Tuesday, Sept. 3
- 6:30am: Spirit vs. Wildcard
- 6:30am: MongolZ vs. 3DMAX
Wednesday, Sept. 4
- 12:30pm: KOI vs. G2
- 12:30pm: MIBR vs. 9z
Thursday, Sept. 5
- 6:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- Loser falls to lower bracket.
- 6:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- Winner qualifies for playoffs.
- 9:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- Winner qualifies for playoffs.
- 9:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- Loser falls to lower bracket.
Friday, Sept. 6
- 6:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- Loser falls to lower bracket.
- 6:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- Loser falls to lower bracket.
- 12:30pm: TBD vs. TBD
- 12:30pm: TBD vs. TBD
- Mid bracket final. Winner qualifies for round of 16.
Saturday, Sept. 7
- 6:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- 9:30pm: TBD vs. TBD
Sunday, Sept. 8
- 9:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- Lower bracket final. Winner qualifies for top 16, loser is eliminated.
- 12:30pm: TBD vs. TBD
- Upper bracket final. Winner qualifies for quarterfinals, loser qualifies for top 12.
Group C – Sept. 10 to 15
Tuesday, Sept. 10
- 6:30am: MOUZ vs. Rooster
- 6:30am: Fnatic vs. Astralis
- 9:30am: BIG vs. Imperial
- 12:30pm: Complexity vs. M80
Wednesday, Sept. 11
- 9:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- Winner qualifies for playoffs.
- 9:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- Loser falls to lower bracket.
- 12:30pm: TBD vs. TBD
- Winner qualifies for playoffs.
- 12:30pm: TBD vs. TBD
- Loser falls to lower bracket.
Thursday, Sept. 12
- 12:30pm: TBD vs. TBD
- Loser falls to lower bracket.
- 12:30pm: TBD vs. TBD
- Loser falls to lower bracket.
Friday, Sept. 13
- 9:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- 9:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- Mid bracket final. Winner qualifies for round of 16.
Saturday, Sept. 14
- 6:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- 9:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- 12:30pm: TBD vs. TBD
- Upper bracket final. Winner qualifies for quarterfinals, loser qualifies for top eight.
Sunday, Sept. 15
- 6:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- Lower bracket final. Winner qualifies for top 16, loser is eliminated.
Group D – Sept. 10 to 15
Tuesday, Sept. 10
- 6:30am: Vitality vs. ATOX
- 6:30am: FURIA vs. Falcons
Wednesday, Sept. 11
- 12:30pm: Liquid vs. ENCE
- 12:30pm: RED Canids vs. VP
Thursday, Sept. 12
- 6:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- Loser falls to lower bracket.
- 6:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- Winner qualifies for playoffs.
- 9:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- Winner qualifies for playoffs.
- 9:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- Loser falls to lower bracket.
Friday, Sept. 13
- 6:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- Loser falls to lower bracket.
- 6:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- Loser falls to lower bracket.
- 12:30pm: TBD vs. TBD
- 12:30pm: TBD vs. TBD
- Mid bracket final. Winner qualifies for round of 16.
Saturday, Sept. 14
- 6:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- 9:30pm: TBD vs. TBD
Sunday, Sept. 15
- 9:30am: TBD vs. TBD
- Lower bracket final. Winner qualifies for top 16, loser is eliminated.
- 12:30pm: TBD vs. TBD
- Upper bracket final. Winner qualifies for quarterfinals, loser qualifies for top eight.
Playoffs
The schedule for ESL Pro League Season 20’s playoffs will be updated at the end of the group stage.
Final standings and prizes
Here is the prize pool distribution and other rewards for placement at ESL Pro League Season 20.
| Placement | Prize ($USD) | Team(s) |
|---|---|---|
| First | $170,000 | TBD |
| Second | $80,000 | TBD |
| Third | $45,000 | TBD, TBD |
| Fifth | $32,000 | TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD |
| Ninth | $23,500 | TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD |
| 13th | $17,500 | TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD |
| 17th | $12,000 | TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD |
| 21st | $7,000 | TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD |
| 29th | $3,500 | TBD, TBD, TBD, TBD |
ESL Pro League Season 20 streams: How to watch
ESL Pro League Season 20 will be streamed live on Twitch and YouTube. If you missed the action, you’ll be able to catch up on the day’s play with spoiler-free VODs available on their respective channels. The matches will also be broadcast in other languages: See the event’s Liquipedia page for every available stream.
