fbpx
Wikipedia

ESL (company)

January 25, 2023

This article is about the esports company. For the planned European club football competition, see European Super League.

The ESL Gaming GmbH, doing business as ESL (formerly known as Electronic Sports League), is a German esports organizer 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 in Cologne, Germany, ESL has eleven offices and multiple international TV studios globally. ESL is the largest esports company to broadcast on Twitch.[3][4]

ESL
Logo since 2019
TypePrivate
IndustryEsports
PredecessorDeutsche Clanliga
FoundedNovember 27, 2000 (2000-11-27)
Headquarters
Cologne
,
Germany
Area served
Worldwide
Key people
Ralf Reichert & Craig Levine (Co-CEOs)
BrandsDreamHack
Intel Extreme Masters
ParentSavvy Games Group
Websitewww.eslgaming.com

In 2022, it was announced that ESL and esports platform FACEIT were acquired by Savvy Games Group (SGG), a holding company owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund. As part of the acquisition, the two companies merged to form the ESL FACEIT Group.[5][6]

History

 
ESL's logo prior to February 2019

The Electronic Sports League launched in 2000 as the successor of the Deutsche Clanliga, which was founded in 1997 by Jens 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 Cinema included Dota 2 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive coverage from ESL One Cologne 2015 and 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 admitted Adderall use following ESL One Katowice 2015, ESL worked with the National Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency to 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 publisher Valve in August 2015 for ESL One Cologne 2015 at the Lanxess Arena where 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 a Dota 2 championship at Madison Square Garden Theater.[1] That same month, ESL partnered with ArenaNet to produce ESL Guild Wars 2 Pro League, which is one of seven official ESL Pro Leagues.[29]

ESL held its 10th arena event in November 2015 at the SAP Center in San Jose, California.[1] The event had over 10 million viewers through Twitch[30] and was the largest Counter-Strike event in America at that time.[31] ESL partnered with Activision for the 2016 Call of Duty World League for the World League's Pro Division.[32]

In November 2015, ESL announced its acquisition of the E-Sports Entertainment Association (ESEA), promoters of the ESEA 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 with 1xBet.[38] On April 28, 2021, Intel and ESL again renewed their partnership in a three-year contract, which will see the two companies invest US$100,000,000 in esports, throughout 2024.[39]

Acquisition by SGG and merger with FACEIT

In 2022, it was announced that ESL and esports platform FACEIT were being acquired for a combined US$1.5 billion by Savvy Games Group (SGG), a holding company owned by Saudi Arabia's Public 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

ESL hosts competitions around the globe, partnering with publishers such as Blizzard Entertainment,[7][41][42] Riot Games, Valve, Microsoft, Wargaming and 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

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

ESL National Championships are 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 are established in order to spread local esports competition around the world.[46]

ESL National Championships are held for Battlefield 4, Counter-Strike, Dota 2, Halo, Hearthstone, Heroes of the Storm, Mortal Kombat, Smite, StarCraft II, World of Tanks, and Rainbow Six.

ESL Pro Tour

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 II and WarCraft III.[47] The two major championship events for those titles are IEM Katowice 2021 (for the three titles) and ESL One Cologne 2020 (for Counter-Strike only).

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the ESL One Cologne was held online in August 2020.[48]

ESL One

 
ESL One logo

ESL One refers to premier offline tournaments across a variety of games,[49] like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive[50][51] and Dota 2, and are usually considered among the most prestigious events for each game.[52] ESL One events are often selected to be part of the Valve-sponsored CS: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 in Rio de Janeiro in 2020 under the ESL One brand, until the event was cancelled as a result of the COVID-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 was IEM Rio Major 2022.

ESL Impact League

ESL Impact League was launched in 2022 to promote women's Counter-Strike:Global Offensive around the world,[53] 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

 
IEM logo
Main article: Intel Extreme Masters

The Intel Extreme Masters is the world's longest-running global esports tournament series.[54]

DreamHack

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. The StarCraft II events retained the DreamHack name.

ESL Technology

ESL created the ESL Wire Anti Cheat software to combat online cheating in the increasingly competitive field.[55] 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.[56] That same year, ESL released ESL Matchmaking which uses ESL's API to match competitors based on skill.[57][58] Microsoft worked with ESL to create an Xbox app to use the ESL tournament system through Xbox Live on Xbox One in 2016.[59]

AnyKey

AnyKey is a diversity initiative created by ESL and Intel to include underrepresented members of the gaming community in competitions including women, LGBT people and people of color.[60][61] AnyKey is made up of two teams for research and implementation.[62][63] 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.[64]

References

  1. ^ a b c d Conditt, Jessica (1 July 2015). "Swedish media house buys world's largest esports company". Engadget. from the original on 3 January 2016. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  2. ^ Bryan Armen Graham (23 July 2015). "Anti-doping in e-sports: World's largest gaming organization will test for PEDs". The Guardian. from the original on 26 December 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  3. ^ Wawro, Alex (10 June 2016). "Report: ESL is the top esports tourney broadcaster on Twitch (that's not Riot)". Gamasutra. from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  4. ^ Alexander, Julie (10 June 2016). "People have watched more than 800M hours of esports on Twitch since August". Polygon. from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  5. ^ a b Wilde, Tyler (25 January 2022). "Major esports host ESL Gaming is now owned by Saudi Arabia". PC Gamer. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  6. ^ a b Jeffrey, Rousseau (24 January 2022). "Savvy Gaming Group purchases ESL Gaming and FaceIt". GamesIndustry.biz. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  7. ^ a b Katharina Pencz (28 October 2015). "Phänomen E-Sport: ein neues Themengebiet für Journalisten". Fachjournalist. from the original on 22 January 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  8. ^ O'Neill, Patrick Howell (25 March 2014). . Daily Dot. Archived from the original on 13 August 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  9. ^ Ren, Victor (10 April 2015). "Promise for esports: Record Breaking Numbers For IEM Katowice 2015". Game Skinny. from the original on 11 August 2020. Retrieved 24 June 2016.
  10. ^ "MTG acquires majority stake in ESL for $86 Million". theScore. theScore. from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  11. ^ a b "ESL sells majority stake to MTG". HLTV.org. from the original on 29 June 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  12. ^ "MTG to acquire the majority stake in the world's largest esports company". from the original on 19 September 2018. Retrieved 17 October 2015.
  13. ^ . Archived from the original on 1 July 2015.
  14. ^ Barker, Ian J. (17 March 2015). "ESL is bringing live esports to more than 1,500 theaters around the world". Daily Dot. from the original on 1 November 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  15. ^ "esports in Cinema Live Event Confirmed for All Work All Play July 28 Premiere Broadcast from Cologne, Germany to over 465 European Cinemas". Reuters. 16 July 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2016.[dead link]
  16. ^ a b Molina, Brett (25 August 2015). "Video gamers drug-tested ahead of competition". USA Today. from the original on 18 March 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  17. ^ Rovell, Darren (23 July 2015). "ESL announces plans to test for PEDs". ESPN.com. from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  18. ^ Wingfield, Nick; Dougherty, Conor (23 July 2015). "Drug Testing Is Coming to E-Sports". The New York Times. from the original on 8 November 2015. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  19. ^ Lumb, David. "Anti-Doping Regulations Come to Esports: A Q&A With Electronic Sports League's Michal Blicharz". Fast Company. from the original on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  20. ^ Sarah E. Needleman (23 July 2015). "Now Coming to E-Sports: Random Drug Testing". Wall Street Journal. from the original on 3 January 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  21. ^ "Video Game League Announces Random Drug Tests For Competitors". NPR. 13 August 2015. from the original on 30 May 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  22. ^ Tach, Dave (12 August 2015). "ESL adopts World Anti-Doping Agency's prohibited substances list, like steroids and pot". Polygon. from the original on 8 November 2020. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  23. ^ MIRAA. "ESL One Cologne with $250,000". HLTV. from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  24. ^ "ESL Announces World's Largest CS:GO Tournament This August". IGN. 23 February 2015. from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  25. ^ Chalk, Andy (24 August 2015). "ESL One Cologne drug tests come up empty". PC Gamer. from the original on 15 June 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  26. ^ Mueller, Saira (22 October 2015). "esports Is Big Time: Pro Video Gaming League Eyes Global Distribution, Drug Testing". IB Times. from the original on 17 April 2019. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  27. ^ Wynne, Jared (26 August 2015). . Daily Dot. Archived from the original on 5 March 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  28. ^ "27 Million People Watched the Biggest Counter-Strike Tournament Ever". IGN. 25 August 2015. from the original on 18 January 2021. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  29. ^ Richard Procter (14 October 2015). "Guild Wars 2 Gets Its Own Esports League". Forbes. from the original on 18 August 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  30. ^ Lee, Kevin (28 March 2015). "esports: the latest 21st century phenomenon or passing fad?". TechRadar. from the original on 15 August 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  31. ^ "IEM San Jose With $100K CS:GO Tournament". Domination esports. Retrieved 22 June 2016.[permanent dead link]
  32. ^ Keshav (28 October 2015). "ESL confirms they're partnering with Activision for Call of Duty World League Pro Division". Charlie Intel. from the original on 30 October 2015. Retrieved 4 January 2015.
  33. ^ "ESL Acquires ESEA, Largest CS:GO Platform". IGN. 20 November 2015. from the original on 13 July 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  34. ^ Trevor Schmidt. "ESEA partners with IEM for CS:GO Qualifiers". ESEA. from the original on 24 June 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  35. ^ . 8 July 2016. Archived from the original on 21 August 2016. Retrieved 1 August 2016.
  36. ^ NikShiP (21 August 2017). "ESL partnership with Mercedes-Benz kicking off with Hamburg DOTA 2 Major | EGameTube". EGameTube. from the original on 26 December 2017. Retrieved 26 December 2017.
  37. ^ "ESL and Hulu strike deal for exclusive esports content". Hulu. 9 October 2017. from the original on 24 October 2019. Retrieved 14 January 2018.
  38. ^ "1xBet becomes Official Global Betting Partner for ESL Pro Tour CS:GO and ESL One Dota 2 - ESL Gaming GmbH". from the original on 1 May 2021. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  39. ^ "ESL and Intel Celebrate 20 years of Collaboration". Intel. 28 April 2021. from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 13 October 2021.
  40. ^ Šimić, Ivan (24 January 2022). "ESL Gaming and FACEIT merge, companies bought by Saudi-backed group for $1.5bn". Esports Insider. Retrieved 26 January 2022.
  41. ^ "Kontrola antydopingowa wkracza do e-Sportu". Miasto Gier. 13 August 2015. from the original on 10 August 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  42. ^ "La montée de l'e-Sport dans le monde". Labo G4. 15 November 2014. from the original on 28 August 2016. Retrieved 22 June 2016.
  43. ^ John Gaudiosi (3 July 2015). "This esports company just got acquired for $87 million". Fortune. from the original on 11 June 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  44. ^ Desk, The Bridge (26 October 2021). "ISL: FSDL launches revolutionary e-sports platform eISL to reiterate youth appeal". thebridge.in. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  45. ^ "Germany's best gamers come in Duisburg against each other". WAZ. 29 April 2015. from the original on 6 August 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  46. ^ Chris Higgins (16 February 2015). "ESL reveals biggest UK tournament for CS:GO and LoL". MCV. from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  47. ^ "ESL Pro Tour - Game Titles". www.eslgaming.com. from the original on 22 September 2020. Retrieved 11 September 2020.
  48. ^ "Update: Much-anticipated ESL One Cologne 2020 will transition into an online event due to ongoing COVID-19 measures". www.esl-one.com. 23 July 2020. from the original on 11 October 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  49. ^ Drall, Pranjall. "ESL Announces $ 1 Million USD Prize Pool for ESL One events". GosuGamers. from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  50. ^ MIRAA. "ESL One Cologne with $250,000". HLTV. from the original on 29 March 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  51. ^ Striker. "ESL One Katowice with $250,000". HLTV. from the original on 7 March 2017. Retrieved 8 December 2018.
  52. ^ Kim, Sovann. "ESL One 2015 announced for June 20th". GosuGamers. from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 3 September 2015.
  53. ^ Stacco, Dom (23 November 2022). "ESL Impact 2023 women's CSGO program and schedule revealed, including three live finals". esports-news.co.uk. Retrieved 6 December 2022.
  54. ^ "3 Things to Know Before Watching Intel Extreme Masters". Unikr. 21 November 2015. from the original on 13 October 2021. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  55. ^ Evan Lahti (24 July 2015). "After drug scandal, ESL says "esports needs to mature"". PC Gamer. from the original on 29 May 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  56. ^ Will M (6 March 2015). "ESL Gaming Network to use Wargaming.net Battle API". Programmable Web. from the original on 8 August 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  57. ^ Chris Higgins (12 February 2015). . MCV. Archived from the original on 3 January 2017. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  58. ^ Jeff Grubb (13 February 2015). "ESL is using its e-sports expertise to offer developers a multiplayer matchmaking tool". Venture Beat. from the original on 26 August 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  59. ^ Stephany Nunneley (16 March 2016). "ESL working with Microsoft to integrate esports tournament system into Xbox Live". VG 24/7. from the original on 28 May 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  60. ^ Melanie Emile (29 February 2016). "AnyKey Focuses on Supporting Diversity in Competitive Gaming". CG Magazine. from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  61. ^ Linscott, Gillian (27 May 2017). "Diversity in Dota 2: Why Aren't There More Female Casters?". Esports Edition. from the original on 18 October 2018. Retrieved 9 June 2017.
  62. ^ John Gaudiosi (29 February 2016). "Intel and ESL Aim for More Women in esports". Fortune. from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  63. ^ Angus Morrison (28 February 2016). "ESL and Intel launch esports diversity initiative AnyKey". PCGamer. from the original on 11 August 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2016.
  64. ^ Chris Higgins (29 February 2016). "ESL and Intel create AnyKey diversity program for esports". MCV. from the original on 17 June 2016. Retrieved 15 June 2016.

External links

  • Official website

January 25, 2023
company, this, article, about, esports, company, planned, european, club, football, competition, european, super, league, major, contributor, this, article, appears, have, close, connection, with, subject, require, cleanup, comply, with, wikipedia, content, po. This article is about the esports company For the planned European club football competition see European Super League A major contributor to this article appears to have a close connection with its subject It may require cleanup to comply with Wikipedia s content policies particularly neutral point of view Please discuss further on the talk page September 2016 Learn how and when to remove this template message The ESL Gaming GmbH doing business as ESL formerly known as Electronic Sports League is a German esports organizer 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 in Cologne Germany ESL has eleven offices and multiple international TV studios globally ESL is the largest esports company to broadcast on Twitch 3 4 ESLLogo since 2019TypePrivateIndustryEsportsPredecessorDeutsche ClanligaFoundedNovember 27 2000 2000 11 27 HeadquartersCologne GermanyArea servedWorldwideKey peopleRalf Reichert amp Craig Levine Co CEOs BrandsDreamHackIntel Extreme MastersParentSavvy Games GroupWebsitewww wbr eslgaming wbr comIn 2022 it was announced that ESL and esports platform FACEIT were acquired by Savvy Games Group SGG a holding company owned by Saudi Arabia s Public Investment Fund As part of the acquisition the two companies merged to form the ESL FACEIT Group 5 6 Contents 1 History 1 1 Acquisition by SGG and merger with FACEIT 2 Competitions 2 1 ESL Play 2 2 ESL National Championships 2 3 ESL Pro Tour 2 4 ESL One 2 5 ESL Impact League 2 6 Intel Extreme Masters 2 7 DreamHack 3 ESL Technology 4 AnyKey 5 References 6 External linksHistory Edit ESL s logo prior to February 2019 The Electronic Sports League launched in 2000 as the successor of the Deutsche Clanliga which was founded in 1997 by Jens 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 Cinema included Dota 2 and Counter Strike Global Offensive coverage from ESL One Cologne 2015 and 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 admitted Adderall use following ESL One Katowice 2015 ESL worked with the National Anti Doping Agency and the World Anti Doping Agency to 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 publisher Valve in August 2015 for ESL One Cologne 2015 at the Lanxess Arena where 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 a Dota 2 championship at Madison Square Garden Theater 1 That same month ESL partnered with ArenaNet to produce ESL Guild Wars 2 Pro League which is one of seven official ESL Pro Leagues 29 ESL held its 10th arena event in November 2015 at the SAP Center in San Jose California 1 The event had over 10 million viewers through Twitch 30 and was the largest Counter Strike event in America at that time 31 ESL partnered with Activision for the 2016 Call of Duty World League for the World League s Pro Division 32 In November 2015 ESL announced its acquisition of the E Sports Entertainment Association ESEA promoters of the ESEA 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 with 1xBet 38 On April 28 2021 Intel and ESL again renewed their partnership in a three year contract which will see the two companies invest US 100 000 000 in esports throughout 2024 39 Acquisition by SGG and merger with FACEIT Edit In 2022 it was announced that ESL and esports platform FACEIT were being acquired for a combined US 1 5 billion by Savvy Games Group SGG a holding company owned by Saudi Arabia s Public 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 EditESL hosts competitions around the globe partnering with publishers such as Blizzard Entertainment 7 41 42 Riot Games Valve Microsoft Wargaming and 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 are 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 are established in order to spread local esports competition around the world 46 ESL National Championships are held for Battlefield 4 Counter Strike Dota 2 Halo Hearthstone Heroes of the Storm Mortal Kombat Smite StarCraft II World of Tanks and Rainbow Six 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 update ESL hosts three titles for the ESL Pro Tour Counter Strike StarCraft II and WarCraft III 47 The two major championship events for those titles are IEM Katowice 2021 for the three titles and ESL One Cologne 2020 for Counter Strike only Due to the COVID 19 pandemic the ESL One Cologne was held online in August 2020 48 ESL One Edit ESL One logo ESL One refers to premier offline tournaments across a variety of games 49 like Counter Strike Global Offensive 50 51 and Dota 2 and are usually considered among the most prestigious events for each game 52 ESL One events are often selected to be part of the Valve sponsored CS 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 in Rio de Janeiro in 2020 under the ESL One brand until the event was cancelled as a result of the COVID 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 was IEM Rio Major 2022 ESL Impact League Edit ESL Impact League was launched in 2022 to promote women s Counter Strike Global Offensive around the world 53 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 Jonkoping 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 54 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 The StarCraft II events retained the DreamHack name ESL Technology EditESL created the ESL Wire Anti Cheat software to combat online cheating in the increasingly competitive field 55 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 56 That same year ESL released ESL Matchmaking which uses ESL s API to match competitors based on skill 57 58 Microsoft worked with ESL to create an Xbox app to use the ESL tournament system through Xbox Live on Xbox One in 2016 59 AnyKey EditAnyKey is a diversity initiative created by ESL and Intel to include underrepresented members of the gaming community in competitions including women LGBT people and people of color 60 61 AnyKey is made up of two teams for research and implementation 62 63 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 64 References Edit a b c d Conditt Jessica 1 July 2015 Swedish media house buys world s largest esports company Engadget Archived from the original on 3 January 2016 Retrieved 4 January 2015 Bryan Armen Graham 23 July 2015 Anti doping in e sports World s largest gaming organization will test for PEDs The Guardian Archived from the original on 26 December 2017 Retrieved 15 June 2016 Wawro Alex 10 June 2016 Report ESL is the top esports tourney broadcaster on Twitch that s not Riot Gamasutra Archived from the original on 8 November 2020 Retrieved 24 June 2016 Alexander Julie 10 June 2016 People have watched more than 800M hours of esports on Twitch since August Polygon Archived from the original on 8 November 2020 Retrieved 24 June 2016 a b Wilde Tyler 25 January 2022 Major esports host ESL Gaming is now owned by Saudi Arabia PC Gamer Retrieved 25 January 2022 a b Jeffrey Rousseau 24 January 2022 Savvy Gaming Group purchases ESL Gaming and FaceIt GamesIndustry biz Retrieved 25 January 2022 a b Katharina Pencz 28 October 2015 Phanomen E Sport ein neues Themengebiet fur Journalisten Fachjournalist Archived from the original on 22 January 2021 Retrieved 22 June 2016 O Neill Patrick Howell 25 March 2014 IEM Katowice was highest rated European esports event ever Daily Dot Archived from the original on 13 August 2016 Retrieved 22 June 2016 Ren Victor 10 April 2015 Promise for esports Record Breaking Numbers For IEM Katowice 2015 Game Skinny Archived from the original on 11 August 2020 Retrieved 24 June 2016 MTG acquires majority stake in ESL for 86 Million theScore theScore Archived from the original on 28 January 2021 Retrieved 17 October 2015 a b ESL sells majority stake to MTG HLTV org Archived from the original on 29 June 2021 Retrieved 29 June 2021 MTG to acquire the majority stake in the world s largest esports company Archived from the original on 19 September 2018 Retrieved 17 October 2015 MTG invests in world s largest esports company ESL Archived from the original on 1 July 2015 Barker Ian J 17 March 2015 ESL is bringing live esports to more than 1 500 theaters around the world Daily Dot Archived from the original on 1 November 2016 Retrieved 22 June 2016 esports in Cinema Live Event Confirmed for All Work All Play July 28 Premiere Broadcast from Cologne Germany to over 465 European Cinemas Reuters 16 July 2015 Retrieved 22 June 2016 dead link a b Molina Brett 25 August 2015 Video gamers drug tested ahead of competition USA Today Archived from the original on 18 March 2020 Retrieved 22 June 2016 Rovell Darren 23 July 2015 ESL announces plans to test for PEDs ESPN com Archived from the original on 17 April 2019 Retrieved 22 June 2016 Wingfield Nick Dougherty Conor 23 July 2015 Drug Testing Is Coming to E Sports The New York Times Archived from the original on 8 November 2015 Retrieved 22 June 2016 Lumb David Anti Doping Regulations Come to Esports A Q amp A With Electronic Sports League s Michal Blicharz Fast Company Archived from the original on 3 January 2017 Retrieved 22 June 2016 Sarah E Needleman 23 July 2015 Now Coming to E Sports Random Drug Testing Wall Street Journal Archived from the original on 3 January 2016 Retrieved 15 June 2016 Video Game League Announces Random Drug Tests For Competitors NPR 13 August 2015 Archived from the original on 30 May 2016 Retrieved 22 June 2016 Tach Dave 12 August 2015 ESL adopts World Anti Doping Agency s prohibited substances list like steroids and pot Polygon Archived from the original on 8 November 2020 Retrieved 22 June 2016 MIRAA ESL One Cologne with 250 000 HLTV Archived from the original on 29 March 2017 Retrieved 8 December 2018 ESL Announces World s Largest CS GO Tournament This August IGN 23 February 2015 Archived from the original on 16 August 2016 Retrieved 22 June 2016 Chalk Andy 24 August 2015 ESL One Cologne drug tests come up empty PC Gamer Archived from the original on 15 June 2016 Retrieved 22 June 2016 Mueller Saira 22 October 2015 esports Is Big Time Pro Video Gaming League Eyes Global Distribution Drug Testing IB Times Archived from the original on 17 April 2019 Retrieved 22 June 2016 Wynne Jared 26 August 2015 ESL One Cologne pulls in 4 2 million in revenue for teams sets viewer records Daily Dot Archived from the original on 5 March 2016 Retrieved 22 June 2016 27 Million People Watched the Biggest Counter Strike Tournament Ever IGN 25 August 2015 Archived from the original on 18 January 2021 Retrieved 22 June 2016 Richard Procter 14 October 2015 Guild Wars 2 Gets Its Own Esports League Forbes Archived from the original on 18 August 2016 Retrieved 15 June 2016 Lee Kevin 28 March 2015 esports the latest 21st century phenomenon or passing fad TechRadar Archived from the original on 15 August 2016 Retrieved 22 June 2016 IEM San Jose With 100K CS GO Tournament Domination esports Retrieved 22 June 2016 permanent dead link Keshav 28 October 2015 ESL confirms they re partnering with Activision for Call of Duty World League Pro Division Charlie Intel Archived from the original on 30 October 2015 Retrieved 4 January 2015 ESL Acquires ESEA Largest CS GO Platform IGN 20 November 2015 Archived from the original on 13 July 2016 Retrieved 15 June 2016 Trevor Schmidt ESEA partners with IEM for CS GO Qualifiers ESEA Archived from the original on 24 June 2016 Retrieved 15 June 2016 ESPORTS INTEGRITY COALITION LAUNCHED WITH IAN SMITH APPOINTED AS THE FIRST ESPORTS INTEGRITY COMMISSIONER 8 July 2016 Archived from the original on 21 August 2016 Retrieved 1 August 2016 NikShiP 21 August 2017 ESL partnership with Mercedes Benz kicking off with Hamburg DOTA 2 Major EGameTube EGameTube Archived from the original on 26 December 2017 Retrieved 26 December 2017 ESL and Hulu strike deal for exclusive esports content Hulu 9 October 2017 Archived from the original on 24 October 2019 Retrieved 14 January 2018 1xBet becomes Official Global Betting Partner for ESL Pro Tour CS GO and ESL One Dota 2 ESL Gaming GmbH Archived from the original on 1 May 2021 Retrieved 29 June 2021 ESL and Intel Celebrate 20 years of Collaboration Intel 28 April 2021 Archived from the original on 6 May 2021 Retrieved 13 October 2021 Simic Ivan 24 January 2022 ESL Gaming and FACEIT merge companies bought by Saudi backed group for 1 5bn Esports Insider Retrieved 26 January 2022 Kontrola antydopingowa wkracza do e Sportu Miasto Gier 13 August 2015 Archived from the original on 10 August 2016 Retrieved 22 June 2016 La montee de l e Sport dans le monde Labo G4 15 November 2014 Archived from the original on 28 August 2016 Retrieved 22 June 2016 John Gaudiosi 3 July 2015 This esports company just got acquired for 87 million Fortune Archived from the original on 11 June 2016 Retrieved 15 June 2016 Desk The Bridge 26 October 2021 ISL FSDL launches revolutionary e sports platform eISL to reiterate youth appeal thebridge in Retrieved 2 March 2022 Germany s best gamers come in Duisburg against each other WAZ 29 April 2015 Archived from the original on 6 August 2016 Retrieved 15 June 2016 Chris Higgins 16 February 2015 ESL reveals biggest UK tournament for CS GO and LoL MCV Archived from the original on 17 June 2016 Retrieved 15 June 2016 ESL Pro Tour Game Titles www eslgaming com Archived from the original on 22 September 2020 Retrieved 11 September 2020 Update Much anticipated ESL One Cologne 2020 will transition into an online event due to ongoing COVID 19 measures www esl one com 23 July 2020 Archived from the original on 11 October 2020 Retrieved 19 September 2020 Drall Pranjall ESL Announces 1 Million USD Prize Pool for ESL One events GosuGamers Archived from the original on 24 September 2015 Retrieved 3 September 2015 MIRAA ESL One Cologne with 250 000 HLTV Archived from the original on 29 March 2017 Retrieved 8 December 2018 Striker ESL One Katowice with 250 000 HLTV Archived from the original on 7 March 2017 Retrieved 8 December 2018 Kim Sovann ESL One 2015 announced for June 20th GosuGamers Archived from the original on 24 September 2015 Retrieved 3 September 2015 Stacco Dom 23 November 2022 ESL Impact 2023 women s CSGO program and schedule revealed including three live finals esports news co uk Retrieved 6 December 2022 3 Things to Know Before Watching Intel Extreme Masters Unikr 21 November 2015 Archived from the original on 13 October 2021 Retrieved 15 June 2016 Evan Lahti 24 July 2015 After drug scandal ESL says esports needs to mature PC Gamer Archived from the original on 29 May 2016 Retrieved 15 June 2016 Will M 6 March 2015 ESL Gaming Network to use Wargaming net Battle API Programmable Web Archived from the original on 8 August 2016 Retrieved 15 June 2016 Chris Higgins 12 February 2015 ESL releases matchmaking devkit to debut in WipEout spiritual successor MCV Archived from the original on 3 January 2017 Retrieved 15 June 2016 Jeff Grubb 13 February 2015 ESL is using its e sports expertise to offer developers a multiplayer matchmaking tool Venture Beat Archived from the original on 26 August 2016 Retrieved 15 June 2016 Stephany Nunneley 16 March 2016 ESL working with Microsoft to integrate esports tournament system into Xbox Live VG 24 7 Archived from the original on 28 May 2016 Retrieved 15 June 2016 Melanie Emile 29 February 2016 AnyKey Focuses on Supporting Diversity in Competitive Gaming CG Magazine Archived from the original on 17 June 2016 Retrieved 15 June 2016 Linscott Gillian 27 May 2017 Diversity in Dota 2 Why Aren t There More Female Casters Esports Edition Archived from the original on 18 October 2018 Retrieved 9 June 2017 John Gaudiosi 29 February 2016 Intel and ESL Aim for More Women in esports Fortune Archived from the original on 17 June 2016 Retrieved 15 June 2016 Angus Morrison 28 February 2016 ESL and Intel launch esports diversity initiative AnyKey PCGamer Archived from the original on 11 August 2016 Retrieved 15 June 2016 Chris Higgins 29 February 2016 ESL and Intel create AnyKey diversity program for esports MCV Archived from the original on 17 June 2016 Retrieved 15 June 2016 External links EditOfficial website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title ESL company amp oldid 1135085539, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

article

, read, download, free, free download, mp3, video, mp4, 3gp, jpg, jpeg, gif, png, picture, music, song, movie, book, game, games.