The ESL Gaming GmbH, doing business as ESL (formerly known as Electronic Sports League), is a German
esports
Esports, short for electronic sports, is a form of competition using video games. Esports often takes the form of organized, multiplayer video game competitions, particularly between professional players, individually or as teams. Although orga ...
organizer and production company that produces video game competitions worldwide. ESL was the world's largest esports company in 2015,
[ and the oldest that is still operational.] Based in Cologne
Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...
, Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, ESL has eleven offices and multiple international TV studios globally. ESL is the largest esports company to broadcast on Twitch
Twitch may refer to:
Biology
* Muscle contraction
** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation
** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction
** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle con ...
.
In 2022, it was announced that ESL and esports platform FACEIT
FACEIT is an esports platform founded in London in 2012. The company has administered leagues for games such as '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'', ''League of Legends'', ''Rocket League'', Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, ''Dota 2'' and ''Tea ...
were being acquired by Savvy Games Group
The Public Investment Fund (PIF; ar, links=no, صندوق الإستثمارات العامة) is the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. It is among the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world with total estimated assets of $620 billion ...
(SGG), a holding company owned by Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in Western Asia. It covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and has a land area of about , making it the fifth-largest country in Asia, the second-largest in the A ...
's Public Investment Fund
The Public Investment Fund (PIF; ar, links=no, صندوق الإستثمارات العامة) is the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. It is among the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world with total estimated assets of $620 billion ...
. As part of the acquisition, the two companies are set to merge and form the ESL FACEIT Group.
History
The Electronic Sports League launched in 2000 as the successor of the Deutsche Clanliga
Deutsch or Deutsche may refer to:
*''Deutsch'' or ''(das) Deutsche'': the German language, in Germany and other places
*''Deutsche'': Germans, as a weak masculine, feminine or plural demonym
*Deutsch (word), originally referring to the Germanic ve ...
, which was founded in 1997 by Jens Hilgers
Jens Hilgers (born 1975) is a German entrepreneur, known for his work in the esports industry. He was the founding CEO of the Electronic Sports League (ESL) — one of the oldest and largest esports organizers which sold for $1.05B to Savvy Gami ...
. The company began with an online gaming league and a gaming magazine. It also rented out servers for game competitions.
In 2015, ESL's Intel Extreme Masters Katowice was at the time, the most watched esports event in history. The event had more than 100,000 in attendance and Twitch viewership was over one million.
In July 2015, Modern Times Group
Modern may refer to:
History
*Modern history
** Early Modern period
** Late Modern period
*** 18th century
*** 19th century
*** 20th century
** Contemporary history
* Moderns, a faction of Freemasonry that existed in the 18th century
Philosoph ...
(MTG) bought a 74 percent stake in ESL from its parent company, Turtle Entertainment, for $86 million. 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
''Dota 2'' is a 2013 multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game by Valve. The game is a sequel to ''Defense of the Ancients'' (''DotA''), a community-created mod for Blizzard Entertainment's '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos.'' ''Dota 2' ...
'' and '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' coverage from ESL One Cologne 2015
ESL One Cologne 2015 was the sixth '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' Major Championship that was held from August 14–18, 2015 at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne. It was organized by Electronic Sports League. The Cologne event was the first ESL ...
and ESL One New York, 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.
After a player publicly admitted Adderall
Adderall and Mydayis are trade names for a combination drug called mixed amphetamine salts containing four salts of amphetamine. The mixture is composed of equal parts racemic amphetamine and dextroamphetamine, which produces a (3:1) ratio bet ...
use following ESL One Katowice 2015
ESL One Katowice 2015, also known as Katowice 2015, was the fifth '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' Major Championship, held from March 12 to March 15, 2015 at the Spodek Arena in Katowice, Poland. It was the first ''CS:GO'' Major of 2015. ...
, ESL worked with the National Anti-Doping Agency
The National Anti-Doping Agency of India is India's national organisation responsible for promoting, coordinating, and monitoring the doping control program in sports in all its forms.
As listed on its official web portal, the agency deals wit ...
and the World Anti-Doping Agency
The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA; french: Agence mondiale antidopage, AMA) is a foundation initiated by the International Olympic Committee based in Canada to promote, coordinate, and monitor the fight against drugs in sports. The agency's key ...
to institute an anti-drug policy. It was the first international esports company to enforce anti-doping regulations. Random tests for the drugs prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency were implemented for its events. 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.
ESL worked with publisher Valve
A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings ...
in August 2015 for ESL One Cologne 2015
ESL One Cologne 2015 was the sixth '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' Major Championship that was held from August 14–18, 2015 at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne. It was organized by Electronic Sports League. The Cologne event was the first ESL ...
at the Lanxess Arena
Lanxess Arena (originally Kölnarena, German for ''Cologne Arena'') is an indoor arena, in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is known as the 18,500-capacity home of the Kölner Haie. The arena opened in 1998 and can accommodate 20,000 p ...
where 16 teams competed in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive.[ ESL implemented randomized drug testing at the event. All tests came back negative.] The tournament had over 27 million viewers,[ making it the largest and most-watched CS:GO tournament at that time.
In October 2015, ESL held a ''Dota 2'' championship at ]Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...
Theater.[ That same month, ESL partnered with ]ArenaNet
ArenaNet, LLC is an American video game developer and subsidiary of NCsoft, founded in 2000 by Mike O'Brien, Patrick Wyatt and Jeff Strain and located in Bellevue, Washington. They are most notable as developers of the online role-playing ga ...
to produce ESL ''Guild Wars 2
''Guild Wars 2'' is a free-to-play, massively multiplayer online role-playing game developed by ArenaNet and published by NCSoft. Set in the fantasy world of Tyria, the core game follows the re-emergence of Destiny's Edge, a disbanded guild ded ...
'' Pro League, which is one of seven official ESL Pro Leagues.
ESL held its 10th arena event in November 2015 at the SAP Center
The SAP Center at San Jose (originally known as San Jose Arena and the HP Pavilion at San Jose) is an indoor arena located in San Jose, California. Its primary tenant is the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League, for which the arena has ...
in San Jose, California
San Jose, officially San José (; ; ), is a major city in the U.S. state of California that is the cultural, financial, and political center of Silicon Valley and largest city in Northern California by both population and area. With a 2020 popul ...
.[ The event had over 10 million viewers through ]Twitch
Twitch may refer to:
Biology
* Muscle contraction
** Convulsion, rapid and repeated muscle contraction and relaxation
** Fasciculation, a small, local, involuntary muscle contraction
** Myoclonic twitch, a jerk usually caused by sudden muscle con ...
and was the largest Counter-Strike event in America at that time. ESL partnered with Activision
Activision Publishing, Inc. is an American video game publisher based in Santa Monica, California. It serves as the publishing business for its parent company, Activision Blizzard, and consists of several subsidiary studios. Activision is one o ...
for the 2016 Call of Duty World League
The Call of Duty World League was a series of ''Call of Duty'' esports tournaments that began in January 2016. At its most recent form, tournaments were played on '' Call of Duty: Black Ops 4'' for PlayStation 4. A total of US$6 million of pr ...
for the World League's Pro Division.
In November 2015, ESL announced its acquisition of the E-Sports Entertainment Association (ESEA), promoters of the ESEA League
E-Sports Entertainment Association League (ESEA League) is an esports competitive video gaming online league & community founded by E-Sports Entertainment Association (ESEA). The company is widely known for their anti-cheat software. ESEA features ...
, after previous collaborations: ESL uses the ESEA anti-cheat system for the ESL CS:GO Pro League. The ESEA platform is used for ESL events as well as offline finals. 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. In 2017, ESL partnered with Mercedes-Benz for Hamburg DOTA 2 Major.
In 2017, ESL partnered with Hulu to produce four esports series (Player v. Player, Bootcamp, Defining Moments and ESL Replay).
In March 2021, ESL announced a partnership with 1xBet
Corp N.V. (also known as "1xBet") is an online gambling company licensed by Curaçao eGaming License. It was founded in 2007 and registered in Cyprus. In 2019, they experienced considerable growth, briefly sponsoring Chelsea FC and Liverpool ...
. On April 28, 2021, Intel and ESL again renewed their partnership in a three-year contract, which will see the two companies invest in esports, throughout 2024.
Acquisition by SGG and merger with FACEIT
In 2022, it was announced that ESL and esports platform FACEIT
FACEIT is an esports platform founded in London in 2012. The company has administered leagues for games such as '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'', ''League of Legends'', ''Rocket League'', Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Siege, ''Dota 2'' and ''Tea ...
were being acquired for a combined by Savvy Games Group (SGG), a holding company owned by Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund
The Public Investment Fund (PIF; ar, links=no, صندوق الإستثمارات العامة) is the sovereign wealth fund of Saudi Arabia. It is among the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world with total estimated assets of $620 billion ...
. 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. 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.
Competitions
ESL hosts competitions around the globe, partnering with publishers such as Blizzard Entertainment
Blizzard Entertainment, Inc. is an American video game developer and publisher based in Irvine, California. A subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, the company was founded on February 8, 1991, under the name Silicon & Synapse, Inc. by three graduat ...
, Riot Games
Riot Games, Inc. is an American video game developer, publisher and esports tournament organizer based in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in September 2006 by Brandon Beck and Marc Merrill to develop ''League of Legends'' and went on t ...
, Valve
A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings ...
, Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washing ...
, Wargaming
A wargame is a strategy game in which two or more players command opposing armed forces in a realistic simulation of an armed conflict. Wargaming may be played for recreation, to train military officers in the art of strategic thinking, or to s ...
and multiple others to facilitate thousands of gaming competitions annually. 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.
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. 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.
ESL National Championships are held for ''Battlefield 4'', ''Counter-Strike'', ''Dota 2'', ''Halo'', ''Hearthstone'', ''Heroes of the Storm'', ''Mortal Kombat'', ''Smite
''Smite'' is a 2014 free-to-play, third-person multiplayer online battle arena (MOBA) video game developed and published by Hi-Rez Studios for Microsoft Windows, Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and Nintendo Switch, and Amazon Luna.[World of Tanks
''World of Tanks'' (''WoT'') is a massively multiplayer online game developed by Belarusian company Wargaming, featuring 20th century (1910s–1970s) era combat vehicles. It is built upon a freemium business model where the game is free-to- ...]
'', 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.
, ESL hosts three titles for the ESL Pro Tour: ''Counter-Strike
''Counter-Strike'' (''CS'') is a series of multiplayer tactical first-person shooter video games in which teams of terrorists battle to perpetrate an act of terror (bombing, hostage-taking, assassination) while counter-terrorists try to preven ...
'', ''StarCraft II
''StarCraft II'' is a military science fiction video game created by Blizzard Entertainment as a sequel to the successful ''StarCraft'' video game released in 1998. Set in a fictional future, the game centers on a galactic struggle for dominance a ...
'' and ''WarCraft III
''Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos'' is a high fantasy real-time strategy computer video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment released in July 2002. It is the second sequel to ''Warcraft: Orcs & Humans'', after ''Warcraft II: Tides ...
''. 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 COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, the ESL One Cologne was held online in August 2020.
ESL One
ESL One refers to premier offline tournaments across a variety of games, like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and ''Dota 2'', and are usually considered among the most prestigious events for each game. ESL One events are often selected to be part of the Valve
A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fittings ...
-sponsored CS:GO Major series. The ESL Counter-Strike Majors have been: EMS One Katowice 2014
Electronic Sports League Major Series One Katowice 2014, also known as EMS One Katowice 2014, was the second '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' Major Championship. The tournament was held from March 13–16, 2014 at the Spodek Arena in Kato ...
, ESL One Cologne 2014
Electronic Sports League One Cologne 2014, also known as ESL One Cologne 2014, was the third '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' Major Championship. The tournament was held during Gamescom 2014 from August 14–17, 2014 at the Cologne Exhibitio ...
, ESL One Katowice 2015
ESL One Katowice 2015, also known as Katowice 2015, was the fifth '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' Major Championship, held from March 12 to March 15, 2015 at the Spodek Arena in Katowice, Poland. It was the first ''CS:GO'' Major of 2015. ...
, ESL One Cologne 2015
ESL One Cologne 2015 was the sixth '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' Major Championship that was held from August 14–18, 2015 at the Lanxess Arena in Cologne. It was organized by Electronic Sports League. The Cologne event was the first ESL ...
, ESL One Cologne 2016
ESL One Cologne 2016, also known as ESL Cologne Major 2016 or Cologne 2016, was an Electronic Sports League Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament. It was the ninth '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' Major Championship and was held at ...
, IEM Katowice 2019
The Intel Extreme Masters Season XIII – Katowice Major 2019, also known as IEM Katowice Major 2019 or Katowice 2019, was the fourteenth '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' Major Championship and the world championship for the thirteenth sea ...
. ESL were originally set to host a major in Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...
in 2020 under the ESL One brand, until the event was cancelled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. 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
The Intel Extreme Masters Season XVII – Rio Major 2022, also known as IEM Rio Major 2022 or Rio 2022, was the eighteenth '' Counter-Strike: Global Offensive'' Major Championship. It was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, between October 31 and N ...
.
ESL Impact League
ESL Impact League was launched in 2022 to promote women's ''Counter-Strike:Global Offensive'' around the world, 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
The Intel Extreme Masters is the world's longest-running global esports tournament series.
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. 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. That same year, ESL released ESL Matchmaking which uses ESL's API to match competitors based on skill. Microsoft worked with ESL to create an Xbox app to use the ESL tournament system through Xbox Live on Xbox One in 2016.
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
The LGBT community (also known as the LGBTQ+ community, GLBT community, gay community, or queer community) is a loosely defined grouping of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and other queer individuals united by a common culture and social ...
and people of color
The term "person of color" ( : people of color or persons of color; abbreviated POC) is primarily used to describe any person who is not considered "white". In its current meaning, the term originated in, and is primarily associated with, the U ...
. AnyKey is made up of two teams for research and implementation. 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.
References
External links
Official website
{{esports competitions
1997 establishments in Germany
Modern Times Group