The world's top CS:GO teams are once again going to Germany to fight it out at the ESL One Cologne 2019. With a prize pool of $300,000, the tournament begins on July 2. A total of 16 teams are expected to compete.
The participating teams so far are:
- Invited
- Astralis
- BIG
- ENCE
- FaZe Clan
- Fnatic
- MIBR
- mousesports
- Natus Vincere
- Ninjas in Pyjamas
- NRG Esports
- Renegades
- Qualifiers
- Team Vitality (Europe)
- FURIA Esports (North America)
- MVP PK (Asia)
The Europe region has two slots in the qualifier. The second team to qualify is Heroic. Initially, Heroic was set to fight AVANGAR last May, but this match was postponed with no specified reason. That match was finally held yesterday.
The last team to join the tournament is the one who wins the GG.Bet Cologne Invitational. The competition for this invitational has started, and the teams vying for that one spot are:
- G2 Esports
- HellRaisers
- Team Liquid
- Movistar Riders
- NoChance
- Sprout
- Windigo Gaming
- Team Spirit
The Group Stage for the ESL One tournament has the teams divided into two groups. Seedings are then done based on the ESL CS:GO World Rankings. The matches then follow a two double-elimination format. Initial matches are best-of one with rest of the matches being best-of three.
The winners from each Group automatically move to the Semifinals. The second place teams move to the Quarterfinals as High Seeds with the third place finishers advance to the Quarterfinals as Low Seeds.
For the Playoffs, the format is single elimination with the Quarterfinals and Semifinals being best-of three. The Grand Finals match is a best-of five.
In last year's ESL One Cologne, it was Na'Vi that took the title. Na'Vi had to go through the Lower Bracket, though the team swept most of its opponent. During the Playoffs, Na'Vi pretty much did the same, dropping only one match against Astralis in the Semifinals and one match versus BIG in the Grand Finals.
This year's event is not all about the tournament, as there are other activities scheduled. There is the Community Hub, for example, where some employees from ESL's headquarters meet up with the fans to talk anything and everything about ESL and even anything esports related. Signing sessions are scheduled as well.
