ESL Pro League Season 11 set to start

16-3-2020 12:12

The 11th edition of the ESL Pro League will kick off this Monday, with all matches being held online amid the coronavirus outbreak.

Initially supposed to be played on LAN, with a group stage in Malta and season finals in Denver, the ESL Pro League has been moved to an online setting in an effort to reduce travel for teams due to the ongoing global health emergency.

The league has been split into two divisions, one European and one North American, with three groups and one group, respectively, with both regions effectively having their own champion this season.

ESL Pro League Season 1 will begin today

Renegades, Sharks and BOOM all decided to withdraw from the tournament to return to their respective countries, while HEROIC pulled out following the transfer of their team to FunPlus Phoenix, who are competing in Flashpoint. BIG, Spirit and Swole Patrol were all invited to fill the gaps, with one spot in the North American division still available as ESL is searching for a last-minute replacement.

Below you can find the groups:

Europe

Group A

Group B

Group C

Virtus.pro

TYLOO

North America

Group A

The league will begin with a round-robin stage across all four groups. In Europe, the group winners will automatically progress to a second group stage, in which they will be joined by the winners of a decider stage, featuring the second and third-placed teams. The winner of the second group will qualify for the title match, with the other team coming from a decider match between the runner-up and the third-placed side.

In North America, the round-robin group will lead to a four-team double-elimination bracket, with only the top two finishers being placed in the upper bracket.

Below you can find the complete schedule for the first group stage:

Monday, March 16:

14:00 ENCE vs. Spirit
18:00 Vitality vs. GODSENT
22:00 Astralis vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas

Tuesday, March 17:

14:00 FORZE vs. Complexity
18:00 Natus Vincere vs. North
22:00 fnatic vs. BIG

Wednesday, March 18:

14:00 Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. Spirit
18:00 Astralis vs. GODSENT
22:00 Vitality vs. ENCE

Thursday, March 19:

14:00 FORZE vs. North
18:00 Natus Vincere vs. BIG
22:00 fnatic vs. Complexity

Friday, March 20:

14:00 Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. GODSENT
18:00 Vitality vs. Spirit
22:00 Astralis vs. ENCE

Saturday, March 21:

14:00 BIG vs. Complexity
18:00 Natus Vincere vs. FORZE
22:00 fnatic vs. North

Sunday, March 22:

14:00 ENCE vs. GODSENT
18:00 Astralis vs. Spirit
22:00 Vitality vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas

Monday, March 23:

14:00 fnatic vs. FORZE
18:00 North vs. BIG
22:00 Natus Vincere vs. Complexity

Tuesday, March 24:

18:00 Natus Vincere vs. fnatic
18:00 BIG vs. FORZE
18:00 North vs. Complexity
22:00 Astralis vs. Vitality
22:00 Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. ENCE
22:00 GODSENT vs. Spirit

Thursday, March 26:

14:00 FaZe vs. TYLOO
18:00 100 Thieves vs. Swole Patrol

Friday, March 27:

14:00 OG vs. TYLOO
18:00 Swole Patrol vs. Liquid
18:00 Evil Geniuses vs. 100 Thieves

Saturday, March 28:

14:00 G2 vs. TYLOO
18:00 MOUZ vs. FaZe
22:00 Liquid vs. 100 Thieves

Sunday, March 29:

14:00 MOUZ vs. OG
18:00 G2 vs. FaZe
22:00 Liquid vs. FURIA

Monday, March 30:

14:00 FaZe vs. Virtus.pro
18:00 Evil Geniuses vs. Swole Patrol

Tuesday, March 31:

14:00 G2 vs. OG
18:00 MOUZ vs. Virtus.pro

Wednesday, April 1:

14:00 MOUZ vs. TYLOO
18:00 G2 vs. Virtus.pro
22:00 Evil Geniuses vs. FURIA

Thursday, April 2:

14:00 Virtus.pro vs. OG
18:00 FURIA vs. Swole Patrol

Friday, April 3:

18:00 FaZe vs. OG
18:00 MOUZ vs. G2
18:00 Virtus.pro vs. TYLOO
22:00 Liquid vs. Evil Geniuses
22:00 100 Thieves vs. FURIA

ESL will be running production for Pro League out of its studio in Cologne, where the following on-air team will be guiding viewers through the action during the coming weeks: