Major tournament organizer ESEA this week outlined how the order of events will change in 2021. First of all, the number of seasons will increase: instead of three they will become four, and at the same time from the program will be removed «training seasons», victory in which did not allow you to pass in the ESL Pro League. Thus, the leader of any of the ESEA Premier seasons will qualify for the next ESL league cycle.
In addition, the company has increased the prize fund of the competition: now a total of $100,000 will be raffled off in each season. This amount will be distributed among the top eight teams in Europe and North America. ESL Counter Strike: Global Offensive General Manager Brian Kremer commented on these changes as follows: «We took into account the opinion of many teams, especially the second tier, and realized that the system we used before was not good enough. Many players aren't motivated enough to play in the MDL and don't see a path that would allow them to become professional cybersports players, especially after the changes that took place in the ESL Pro League last year. The path they had left didn't seem easy or attractive».
Now tournament organizers expect to change that situation. Shorter, more frequent competitive seasons will allow teams to improve faster and avoid long gaps between big games.
