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ESL Pro League Season 18 Preview – Tournament Format & Guide

tit-krajnik
29 Aug 2023
Tit Krajnik 29 Aug 2023
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ESL Pro League Trophy
ESL Pro League Trophy (credit: via Twitter (@ESLCS))
ESL Pro League Season 18 is an upcoming Counter-Strike: Global Offensive esports tournament slated to kick off on Wednesday, August 30, in Saint Julian's, Malta. The event will welcome 32 CS:GO teams who will fight for the largest slice of the $850,000 prize pool and two direct invites to the IEM Katowice 2024 and BLAST World Final.
  • ESL Pro League Season 18
  • When Is ESL Pro League Season 18
  • ESL Pro League Season 18 Format
  • Group Stage
  • Playoffs
  • ESL Pro League Season 18 Teams
  • ESL Pro League Season 18 Prize Pool
  • Betting On ESL Pro League Season 18

Here, you can find all the information about the final ESL Pro League Season 18 played on Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, including the dates, format, teams, and the best betting sites where you can bet on it.

ESL Pro League Season 18


ESL Pro League Season 18 is one of the most prestigious CS:GO events of the year and one of the final CS:GO tournaments before we transition to Counter-Strike 2 this summer. The tournament is a part of the Intel Grand Slam and one of the most lucrative CS:GO events of 2023, offering a $850,000 prize pool and a $200,000 winner's share.

The event will run for over one month, giving esports fans plenty to look forward to as they support their favourite teams and place bets with the best CS:GO betting sites, like Stake.com.

The first round of ESL Pro League Season 18 is just around the corner, so it's important to have your Stake betting account ready so you don't miss out on the action. When registering on Stake, remember to use our promo code NEWBONUS to grab a welcome bonus and get ahead on your esports betting endeavour.

When Is ESL Pro League Season 18


ESL Pro League Season 18 will kick off on Wednesday, August 30, in Saint Julian's, Malta, with the group stage. The tournament will last over a month and culminate with the grand finals on October 1, 2023.

ESL Pro League Season 18 Format


ESL Pro League Season 18 will kick off with the group stage on Wednesday, August 30, with the top four teams from each group advancing to the playoffs, which is set to kick off on September 26, 2023.

Group Stage

  • 32 teams split into four triple-elimination groups of eight
  • All matches are best-of-three (Bo3)
  • The top four teams from each group advance to the playoffs

  • Group stage winners advance to the quarterfinals
  • Runners-up proceed to the Round of 12 as High Seed
  • Third-placed teams advance to Round of 16 as High Seed
  • Fourth-placed teams advance to Round of 16 as Low Seeds

Playoffs

  • Top 16 teams from the group stage
  • The teams are seeded into the playoffs based on their placement in the group stage
  • Single-elimination bracket
  • All matches, except for the finals, are best-of-three (Bo3)
  • The Grand Final is best-of-five (Bo5)

ESL Pro League Season 18 Teams


ESL Pro League Season 18  will welcome 32 CS:GO teams from all regions (Europe, Asia-Pacific, South America, Oceania, and North America), including some of the top-rated squads in the world. The list of participants includes 15 partnered teams, while the rest earned their spot at ESL Pro League Season 18 by winning various CS:GO tournaments throughout the year.

Group A:
  • Team Vitality
  • ORKS
  • Astralis
  • Ninjas in Pyjamas
  • FURIA Esports
  • Movistar Riders
  • Grayhound
  • GamerLegion

Group B:
  • Heroic
  • Rooster
  • BIG
  • Monte
  • MOUZ
  • MiBR
  • Evil Geniuses
  • ENCE

Group C:
  • FaZe Clan
  • 9z Team
  • Imperial Esports
  • Fnatic
  • Apeks
  • M80
  • 5yclone
  • Natus Vincere

Group D:
  • Cloud9
  • Eternal Fire
  • Complexity
  • 9INE
  • Team Liquid
  • Virtus.pro
  • Lynn Vision
  • G2 Esports

ESL Pro League Season 18 Prize Pool


Like the previous iteration of the tournament, ESL Pro League Season 18 will have a $850,000 prize pool divided among all participating teams. The champions will take home $200,000, while the first four teams to get eliminated will be awarded a $4,000 consolation prize.

  • Champions - $200,000 + IEM Katowice 2024 and BLAST World Final 2023 invites
  • Runners-up - $90,000
  • 3rd-4th - $50,000
  • 5th-8th - $35,000
  • 9th-12th - $25,000
  • 13th-16th – $20,000
  • 17th-20th - $15,000
  • 21st-28th - $8,000
  • 29th-32nd - $4,000

Betting On ESL Pro League Season 18


Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is one of the biggest esports in the world and one of the most popular titles among esports bettors. This explains why nearly all sportsbooks offer CS:GO betting markets, including traditional sportsbooks, esports bookmakers, and crypto bookies.

However, even though it's easy to find CS:GO betting markets, especially for the biggest events such as ESL Pro League Season 18, it’s important to use the best bookmakers for the job, and there aren’t many that can compare with Stake.com

Stake.com is one of the world’s best esports bookmakers, with excellent coverage of all esports and very competitive odds for pre-match and in-play betting. Moreover, Stake.com regularly offers promotions and bonuses that esports punters can take advantage of, including the welcome offer, which you can claim by using our bonus code “NEWBONUS”. 

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