ECS Continues Player-First Approach with Condensed Qualifier Schedule
LONDON – January 18, 2018 – FACEIT’s Esports Championship Series (ECS), the first CS:GO league to offer players co-ownership and true collaboration in league activities, is shaking up the qualification format for ECS Season 5 by eliminating the ECS Development League and introducing the new ECS Challenger Cup. In previous seasons, teams would earn a place in ECS through the ECS Development League but with the busy CS:GO league and tournament schedule, the process is changed to allow more teams to participate. The new ECS Challenger Cup will introduce a more condensed schedule, allowing teams to earn a place in the league in less time. Any team can earn a place in the ECS Challenger Cup by qualifying in the upcoming ECS Open Qualifiers beginning January 27 in Europe and North America.
In Europe, there will be several Regional Qualifiers for CIS/Russia, North EU, West/Central EU, and South/East EU, as well as Open Qualifiers. A total of 16 teams will face off from February 16-18, 2018 in the Closed Qualifiers. The top four winners of the Closed Qualifiers will go into the Challenger Cup, where they will be joined by two invited teams and two relegated teams in a Best of Three double elimination bracket. The top two after the end of the Challenger Cup will progress into ECS Season 5.
North America’s system will be similar, only without the regional qualifiers. There will be four NA Open Qualifiers, with the top four of each qualifier entering the Closed Qualifier. The top four winners of the NA Closed Qualifiers will then enter the Challenger Cup along with two invited and two relegated teams. The two winners will move forward to compete in ECS Season 5.
A detailed overview of the dates for both the European and North American Qualifiers are below:
EU Open Qualifiers (Regional)
- CIS/Russia Qualifier: February 3, 2018 (2 qualifying slots)
- North EU Qualifier: February 3, 2018 (2 qualifying slots)
- West/Central EU Qualifier: February 4, 2018 (2 qualifying slots)
- South/East EU Qualifier: February 4, 2018 (2 qualifying slots)
- EU Open Qualifiers: 5-15 February (8 qualifying slots)
EU Closed Qualifier: February 16-18, 2018
NA Open Qualifiers: February 3-11, 2018
NA Closed Qualifiers: February 16-18, 2018
Teams can find the qualifiers on http://fce.gg/ecs.
For more information on the Esports Championship Series, visit www.csgoleague.com or follow the league on Twitter (@ECS).
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About FACEIT:
FACEIT is the leading competitive platform for online multiplayer games, with more than 7.5 million users logging in a total of over 12 million online game sessions each month. FACEIT allows players to easily play in tournaments and leagues for virtual and real-world prizes through automated tournament management and matchmaking technology. For developers, FACEIT’s advanced software development kit (SDK) allows game creators to easily integrate user-friendly matchmaking and tournaments into their titles to allow gamers to take part in competitive online games at all skill levels. Esports organizers, players and communities use FACEIT to create and manage online competitions. For more information on FACEIT, please visit www.faceit.com.