ESL Gaming, part of ESL FACEIT Group, and the Ministry for the Economy, EU Funds and Lands, through the GamingMalta Foundation, are extending their partnership for the ESL Pro League until the end of Season 20. The expansion will see Malta be the host location of the biggest and longest-running Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) league featuring an $850,000 total prize pool per season, by bringing both Conference Stage and Group Stage teams to the Mediterranean island.
ESL Gaming and GamingMalta first joined forces in 2020 to establish opportunities across all levels of the zero-to-hero path offered by ESL Gaming’s esports ecosystems. Moreover, the collaboration allowed Malta to establish itself as the home of esports while also helping ESL Gaming deliver exciting and top-quality content and transmissions of the ESL Pro League for fans worldwide, despite the challenges that the global pandemic presented.
The Minister for the Economy, European Funds and Lands Silvio Schembri welcomed this partnership and stated that “Our vision to position Malta as an esports hub is bearing fruit and this continued partnership with ESL will continue to showcase Malta’s gaming ecosystem as the Home of Gaming Excellence, welcoming top esports athletes to our island for years to come.”
The extension agreement runs until the end of 2024 and will focus on growing and fostering the local esports ecosystem via local tournaments and conferences, thereby setting up the development structures needed to offer aspiring players and teams from Malta the opportunity to go pro.
CEO of GamingMalta Foundation Ivan Filletti stated that “Growing the local esports ecosystem is a vital part of our strategic efforts to ensure that we build a strong esports structure. Our partnership with ESL ensures that not only do we host international ESL tournaments in Malta but build on the zero-to-hero concept whereby local esports athletes participate in localised ESL events.”
Brian Krämer, General Manager of CS:GO at ESL Gaming stated that they have been a proud partner of GamingMalta for the past two years of ESL Pro League and are happy to be in Malta to host the upcoming seasons of their premier CS:GO league.
Alex Inglot, Commissioner of ESL Pro League, stated that this partnership has shaped the ESL Pro League experience for CS:GO fans and they look forward to having the best players in the world competing in the unique environment of Malta.
Commencing on 31 August, the Group Stage of ESL Pro League Season 16 will see 15 Louvre partner teams plus nine teams qualified through either the ESL CS:GO World Ranking or the ESL Pro League Conference Stage, gather in Malta to battle it out for one of the twelve spots in the Playoff Stage, which will take place between 27 September – 2 October.
The Playoff Stage of ESL Pro League Season 16 will take place in front of a live audience. Tickets will be released on 5 September.
For more details about ESL Pro League Season 16, check out the official website.
Photo: MEFL
