ESL reveals Pro League S20 opening matchups

HEROIC and NIP will meet on the tournament's opening day.

MOUZ have won the last two seasons of ESL Pro League

ESL has revealed the opening matchups for Pro League Season 20, kicking off on September 3 in Malta with Groups A and B, while Groups C and D will commence on September 10.

The 32-team event will run for almost 20 days and feature four groups of eight teams that will play in a triple-elimination bracket, with sixteen teams advancing to a single-elimination playoff round to determine the winner.

Group A is headlined by an opening match between HEROIC and Ninjas in Pyjamas, with the winner of that game set to face off against Natus Vincere or Lynn Vision. The group's second-highest-ranked team, FaZe, will meet Sangal, while Eternal Fire have been matched up against FlyQuest.

HEROIC vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas
Natus Vincere vs. Lynn Vision
FaZe vs. Sangal
Eternal Fire vs. FlyQuest

The Group B opening round will see a South American derby between 9z and MIBR, who are put on the same side of the bracket as Spirit and Wildcard. KOI will face off against G2, while The MongolZ will battle 3DMAX in a rematch of the Skyesports Championship 2024 grand final.

Spirit vs. Wildcard
MIBR vs. 9z
The MongolZ vs. 3DMAX
KOI vs. G2

Three-time EPL champions MOUZ will clash with Rooster in the opening matchup in Group C, with the winner set to play against BIG or Imperial. Group C will also see a North American derby between Complexity and M80 and a high-octane fnatic vs. Astralis opening matchup. The match will be the first time Benjamin "⁠blameF⁠" Bremer will face off against his former team, and the first clash between the two organizations since November 2022.

MOUZ vs. Rooster
BIG vs. Imperial
Complexity vs. M80
fnatic vs. Astralis

Group D features Vitality and Liquid, who will face ATOX and ENCE, respectively, in their first matches. Virtus.pro and RED Canids are also set to meet, with FURIA and Falcons closing out the opening round.

Vitality vs. ATOX
FURIA vs. Falcons
Liquid vs. ENCE
RED Canids vs. Virtus.pro