ESL Pro League Season 16 viewer's guide

HLTV.org has prepared a comprehensive viewer's guide ahead of the $823,000 competition set to begin on Wednesday.

ESL Pro League Season 16 kicks off on Wednesday, August 31, and will run for over four weeks until its conclusion on October 2. The competition will take place in Malta, the home of ESL's flagship league for five seasons until Season 20 as announced by ESL. The tournament also marks the first time that fans will be in attendance at a Pro League event since Season 10, which was held in 2019. The coronavirus pandemic forced the previous five seasons to be played either online or behind closed doors.

FaZe can win the Intel Grand Slam in Malta

The 24 participating teams will first compete in four groups of six teams each, where they will play in a round-robin best-of-three format. The top three teams per group will advance to the playoffs, with the best team from each receiving an automatic quarter-finals berth.

OG is the only team ranked in the top 17 that will not compete in Malta, while HEROIC will make their first-ever Pro League appearance as a partner organization after entering an agreement with ESL in 2021. Also included in the team list are the likes of MIBR, Outsiders, and Eternal Fire, who qualified through the EPL Season 16 Conference stage.

For FaZe, the ESL Pro League Season 16 title isn't the only thing on the line. If Finn "⁠karrigan⁠" Andersen's men triumph at the tournament, they will win the fourth Intel Grand Slam season and $1,000,000 in prize money.

The four groups are as follows:

Group A
Natus Vincere
Ninjas in Pyjamas
Vitality
Spirit
fnatic
Endpoint

Group B
FaZe
G2
BIG
Outsiders
MIBR
FTW

Group C
Astralis
MOUZ
HEROIC
ENCE
HEET
Complexity

Group D
Liquid
Cloud9
Movistar Riders
FURIA
Eternal Fire
Evil Geniuses

The group stage will start on August 31, with Group A, and will conclude on September 26 following the final matches of Group D. The playoffs will kick off the next day, September 27, running all the way to the grand final on October 2.

The tournament schedule is as follows:

Group Stage

Group A: August 31-September 4
Group B: September 7-11
Group C: September 14-18
Group D: September 21-25

Playoffs

Tuesday, September 27

15:30 - Playoffs Round 1 (BO3)
19:00 - Playoffs Round 1 (BO3)

Wednesday, September 28
15:30 - Playoffs Round 1 (BO3)
19:00 - Playoffs Round 1 (BO3)

Thursday, September 29
15:30 - Quarter-final (BO3)
19:00 - Quarter-final (BO3)

Friday, September 30
15:30 - Quarter-final (BO3)
19:00 - Quarter-final (BO3)

Saturday, October 1
15:30 - Semi-final (BO3)
19:00 - Semi-final (BO3)

Sunday, October 2
17:00 - Grand Final (BO5)

The talent that will accompany the viewers throughout the first two weeks, albeit remotely, has already been announced. The most notable absence is that of Alex "⁠Machine⁠" Richardson, who won't be alongside his usual partner Chad "⁠SPUNJ⁠" Burchill for ESL Pro League. His replacement is yet to be revealed, although Machine has promised that viewers will be in 'VERY VERY safe hands.'

Below is the announced talent list:

Tres "⁠stunna⁠" Saranthus - Host
Pala "⁠Pala⁠" Gilroy Sen - Host

Anastasija "⁠Heccu⁠" Tolmačeva - Sidelines

Janko "⁠YNk⁠" Paunović - Analyst
Aleksandar "⁠kassad⁠" Trifunović - Analyst
Alex "⁠Mauisnake⁠" Ellenberg - Analyst
Sudhen "⁠Bleh⁠" Wahengbam - Analyst

Chad "⁠SPUNJ⁠" Burchill - Caster
Harry "⁠JustHarry⁠" Russell - Caster
Hugo "⁠Hugo⁠" Byron - Caster

$823,000 will be spread out between all 24 teams, with the champions taking home the biggest amount, a notch on the Intel Grand Slam, and spots at the BLAST Premier World Final in December and IEM Katowice 2023. The prize breakdown is as follows:

1. $175,000 + Intel Grand Slam notch + BLAST World Final + IEM Katowice 2023
2. $70,000
3-4. $35,000
5-8. $17,500
9-12. $12,000
13-16. $9,000
17-20. $7,500
21-24. $6,000