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ESL (company)

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For other uses, seeEuropean Super LeagueandESL Investments.

ESL Gaming GmbH
FormerlyElectronic Sports League
Company typePrivate
IndustryEsports
PredecessorDeutsche Clanliga
FoundedNovember 27, 2000;23 years ago(2000-11-27)
Headquarters
Cologne
,
Germany
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Ralf Reichert & Craig Levine (Co-CEOs)
BrandsDreamHack
Intel Extreme Masters
ParentESL FACEIT Group
Websitewww.eslgaming

ESL Gaming GmbH(formerly known asElectronic Sports League), is a Germanesportsorganizer and production company that produces video game competitions worldwide. ESL was the world's largest esports company in 2015,[1]and the oldest that is still operational.[2]Based inCologne,Germany,ESL has eleven offices and multiple international TV studios globally. ESL is the largest esports company to broadcast onTwitch.[3][4]

In 2022, it was announced that ESL and esports platformFACEITwere acquired bySavvy Games Group(SGG), a holding company owned bySaudi Arabia'sPublic Investment Fund.As part of the acquisition, the two companies merged to form the ESL FACEIT Group.[5][6]

History

[edit]
ESL's logo prior to February 2019

The Electronic Sports League launched in 2000 as the successor of theDeutsche Clanliga,which was founded in 1997 byJens Hilgers.[7]The company began with an online gaming league and a gaming magazine. It also rented out servers for game competitions.[1]

In 2015, ESL's Intel Extreme Masters Katowice was at the time, the most watched esports event in history.[8]The event had more than 100,000 in attendance and Twitch viewership was over one million.[9]

In July 2015,Modern Times Group(MTG) bought a 74 percent stake in ESL from its parent company, Turtle Entertainment, for $86 million.[10][11][12][13]That same month, ESL announced its participation in "esports in Cinema," which would broadcast live esports events to over 1,500 movie theaters across the globe.Esports in CinemaincludedDota 2andCounter-Strike: Global Offensivecoverage fromESL One Cologne 2015and ESL One New York,[14]as well as a documentary, "All Work All Play," which follows the rise of esports and highlights pro gamers as they work toward the Intel Extreme Masters World Championship.[15]

After a player publicly admittedAdderalluse followingESL One Katowice 2015,ESL worked with theNational Anti-Doping Agencyand theWorld Anti-Doping Agencyto institute an anti-drug policy.[16][17][18]It was the first international esports company to enforce anti-doping regulations.[19]Random tests for the drugs prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency were implemented for its events.[20][21]Punishments for the use of performance-enhancing drugs range from reduced prize money and tournament points to disqualification and a maximum two-year ban from ESL events.[22]

ESL worked with publisherValvein August 2015 forESL One Cologne 2015at theLanxess Arenawhere 16 teams competed in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.[11][23][24]ESL implemented randomized drug testing at the event.[25]All tests came back negative.[26]The tournament had over 27 million viewers,[16][27]making it the largest and most-watched CS:GO tournament at that time.[28]

In October 2015, ESL held aDota 2championship atMadison Square GardenTheater.[1]That same month, ESL partnered withArenaNetto produce ESLGuild Wars 2Pro League, which is one of seven official ESL Pro Leagues.[29]

ESL held its 10th arena event in November 2015 at theSAP CenterinSan Jose, California.[1]The event had over 10 million viewers throughTwitch[30]and was the largest Counter-Strike event in America at that time.[31]ESL partnered withActivisionfor the 2016Call of Duty World Leaguefor the World League's Pro Division.[32]

In November 2015, ESL announced its acquisition of the E-Sports Entertainment Association (ESEA), promoters of theESEA League,after previous collaborations: ESL uses the ESEA anti-cheat system for the ESL CS:GO Pro League.[33]The ESEA platform is used for ESL events as well as offline finals.[34]As of July 2016, ESL is a member of the Esports Integrity Coalition (ESIC), a non-profit members' association to maintain integrity in professional esports.[35]In 2017, ESL partnered with Mercedes-Benz for Hamburg DOTA 2 Major.[36]

In 2017, ESL partnered with Hulu to produce four esports series (Player v. Player, Bootcamp, Defining Moments and ESL Replay).[37]

In March 2021, ESL announced a partnership with1xBet.[38]On April 28, 2021, Intel and ESL again renewed their partnership in a three-year contract, which will see the two companies investUS$100,000,000in esports, throughout 2024.[39]

Acquisition by SGG and merger with FACEIT

[edit]

In 2022, it was announced that ESL and esports platformFACEITwere being acquired for a combinedUS$1.5 billionby Savvy Games Group (SGG), a holding company owned by Saudi Arabia'sPublic Investment Fund.[5]The ESL purchase is worth $1.05 billion, while the FACEIT deal is worth $500 million; both deals are expected to close in the second quarter of 2022, subject to regulatory approval.[40]As part of the acquisition, ESL and FACEIT are set to merge and form the ESL FaceIt Group. The new company will be headed by ESL CEO Craig Levine and FACEIT CEO Niccolo Maisto, while ESL co-founder Ralf Reichert will serve as executive chairman.[6]

Competitions

[edit]

ESL hosts competitions around the globe, partnering with publishers such asBlizzard Entertainment,[7][41][42]Riot Games,Valve,Microsoft,Wargamingand multiple others to facilitate thousands of gaming competitions annually.[43]ESL competitors are supported on both national and international levels. Some of their more notable competitions include the following:

ESL Play

[edit]

ESL Play is an esports platform that provides tournaments and ladders across all games and skill levels. ESL Open, the first cup on the league ladder, is open to everyone, including beginners. ESL Major competitions have entry requirements and winning on this level is required to earn a spot in ESL Pro competition. However, ESL Major also contains Go4 Cups, which are free tournaments that are open to everyone. Tournaments at this level require prior qualification.[44]

ESL National Championships

[edit]

ESL National Championships were region-specific ESL Pro competitions held in various countries. ESL Meisterschaft, the German championship, began in 2002 and is the oldest esports league in existence.[45]The ESL UK Premiership, another regional esports program, has been ESL's largest regional tournament since 2010. National Championships were established in order to spread local esports competition around the world.[46]

ESL National Championships were held forBattlefield 4,Counter-Strike,Dota 2,Halo,Hearthstone,Heroes of the Storm,Mortal Kombat,Smite,StarCraft II,World of Tanks,andRainbow Six.

On September 15th 2023, ESL announced that they would be ending all National Championships by the beginning of 2024.[47]ESL Meisterschaft: Autumn 2023 was the final tournament to be played, which ended on December 16th 2023.[48]

ESL Pro Tour

[edit]

The ESL Pro Tour is a year-round circuit that uses a ranking system for qualification to a major championship event.

As of 2020,ESL hosts three titles for the ESL Pro Tour:Counter-Strike,StarCraft IIandWarcraft III.[49]The two major championship events for those titles areIEMKatowice 2021 (for the three titles) andESL One Cologne2020 (for Counter-Strike only).

Due to theCOVID-19 pandemic,the ESL One Cologne was held online in August 2020.[50]

In 2023, theESL Pro Tourwill host tournaments for three titles:Counter-Strike: Global Offensive,Dota 2,andStarCraft II.

For Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, key events include IEM Katowice 2023, IEM Spring 2023, IEM Dallas 2023, IEM Cologne 2023, and the ESL Pro Tour CS:GO in Sydney.

For Dota 2, major tournaments include DreamLeague Season 19, DreamLeague Season 20, DreamLeague Season 21[51]and the Riyadh Masters. Notably, the Riyadh Masters is the third-largest esports tournament in terms of prize money, following the Fortnite World Championship andThe International.

ESL One

[edit]
ESL One logo

ESL One refers to premier offline tournaments across a variety of games,[52]likeCounter-Strike: Global Offensive[53][54]andDota 2,and are usually considered among the most prestigious events for each game.[55]ESL One events are often selected to be part of theValve-sponsoredCS:GO Major series.The ESL Counter-Strike Majors have been:EMS One Katowice 2014,ESL One Cologne 2014,ESL One Katowice 2015,ESL One Cologne 2015,ESL One Cologne 2016,IEM Katowice 2019.ESL were originally set to host a major inRio de Janeiroin 2020 under the ESL One brand, until the event was cancelled as a result of theCOVID-19 pandemic.After 2020, the CS:GO event of ESL One was merged into IEM brand. As of November 2022, ESL has hosted seven of the eighteen CS:GO Major tournaments, while the last one wasIEM Rio Major 2022.

ESL Impact League

[edit]

ESL Impact League was launched in 2022 to promote women'sCounter-Strike:Global Offensivearound the world,[56]and is often held simultaneously with other ESL tournaments such as IEM and ESL Challengers. In 2022, 3 LAN tournaments were held in Dallas, Valencia and Jönköping.

Intel Extreme Masters

[edit]
IEM logo
Main article:Intel Extreme Masters

The Intel Extreme Masters is the world's longest-running global esports tournament series.[57]

DreamHack

[edit]
Main article:DreamHack

After DreamHack merged with ESL in 2020, the DreamHack Open CS:GO events were renamed to ESL Challengers, the DreamHack Masters events were discontinued.[citation needed]TheStarCraft IIevents retained the DreamHack name.[citation needed]

ESL Technology

[edit]

ESL created the ESL Wire Anti Cheat software to combat online cheating in the increasingly competitive field.[58]In 2015, ESL enhanced its tournament software by integrating Wargaming's "Battle API" into its tournaments. The API makes player and game data available through the API application.[59]That same year, ESL released ESL Matchmaking which uses ESL's API to match competitors based on skill.[60][61]Microsoft worked with ESL to create an Xbox app to use the ESL tournament system through Xbox Live on Xbox One in 2016.[62]

AnyKey

[edit]

AnyKey is a diversity initiative created by ESL and Intel to include underrepresented members of the gaming community in competitions including women,LGBT peopleandpeople of color.[63][64]AnyKey is made up of two teams for research and implementation.[65][66]AnyKey has researched and implemented a code of conduct, which aims to address an inclusion policy for esports events and online broadcasts and the harassment issues underrepresented populations face. It has also created and hosted women's tournaments. The two teams continue to research and implement inclusion in the gaming community.[67]

References

[edit]
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