New CS:GO Pro League by ESL

An agreement between 13 leading teams, ESL, and DreamHack, lays the foundation for a new league format.

A groundbreaking new agreement between leading CS:GO teams, ESL and DreamHack will govern the setup of Pro League and share of revenues and profits from ESL’s Pro Tour competitions. The teams, representing the top level of professional CS:GO, will also become majority stakeholders in the league with a long-term slot for participation. By partnering with the leading CS:GO teams, the new agreement further establishes the ESL Pro Tour as one of the most valuable properties in the global business of esports.

The new agreement - informally dubbed ‘The Louvre Agreement’ - was signed by   Natus Vincere,  Astralis,  Complexity Gaming,  Evil Geniuses,  ENCE,  FaZe Clan,  Fnatic,  G2 Esports,  mousesports,  Ninjas in Pyjamas,  Team Liquid,  Team Vitality and  100 Thieves. and ESL following a meeting in Paris in January 2020. Between them, the signatories of the agreement have won 28 ESL and DreamHack Masters-level competitions and two Intel® Grand Slams in the last four years and represent all of the top 10 ranked teams in the world.
The agreement establishes a deep partnership between ESL, DreamHack and the partner teams, and introduces:

• — ESL Pro League being transformed into a new league with a single global division starting in its 11th season
  • — Teams are majority stakeholders in the league and have a key role in its strategic decision-making process;
  • — Revenue share for teams and players from ESL’s Pro Tour competitions, including ESL One Cologne powered by Intel® and Intel® Extreme Masters Katowice.

  The NEW truly global
  is here! Season 11 is going to be
  better than ever:
  
  FULLY STACKED - 24 incredible
  teams.
  PURE COMPETITION - More
  exciting than ever before.
  NO MORE EXCUSES - Only the
  absolute best can win.

  — ESL Counter-Strike (@ESLCS)

  A new and transformed league built around partner teams

  The agreement elevates signatory teams to key stakeholders in the CS:GO ecosystem and introduces revenue shares for all ESL Pro Tour competitions for the first time. It will further professionalize CS:GO esports by improving team representation, introducing standardized regulations, and revenue sharing for teams and their players.

  The agreement will transform ESL Pro League, the world’s longest-running professional league for CS:GO, into a 24-team competition with a single global division, moving away from the previous regionalized model. The founding teams will retain a long-term slot in the league similar to other sports, with remaining teams qualifying on the basis of their world ranking or directly through the Mountain Dew League, the ESL Pro League’s gateway competition.

• 
  The teams will also get special in-game models
  
  

  Partner teams to earn share of ESL Pro Tour revenues and profits

  The ESL Pro Tour comprises ESL and DreamHack CS:GO competitions, including ESL Pro League, DreamHack Masters, ESL One and the IEM. In 2019, these competitions were watched by fans for an estimated 127 million hours and boasted a combined prize pool of more than $4.5 million on top of the $1,000,000 Intel Grand Slam.
  The agreement will mean partner teams earn a share of revenues from all competitions in the ESL Pro Tour - including marque tournaments such as IEM Katowice and ESL One Cologne. It will bring structure to the current CS:GO esports ecosystem, establishing the basis on which teams compete in ESL’s competitions.

  The agreement also covers member invitations to ESL Pro Tour tournaments, competition standards, player influence, team obligations at tournaments and sets up core guidelines for future joint business endeavors.
  More information on the agreement can be found on the official

  Participating teams:

  
   Natus Vincere
   Astralis
   Complexity Gaming
   Evil Geniuses
   ENCE
   FaZe Clan
   Fnatic
   G2 Esports
   mousesports
   Ninjas in Pyjamas
   Team Liquid
   Team Vitality
   100 Thieves.