The upcoming ESL Pro League Season 21 is set to bring major structural changes as the event moves from Malta to Stockholm, where all matches will take place at ESL’s studios without a live audience for the playoffs. The league’s format has been revamped, now featuring two Swiss-style group stages, leading into an eight-team playoff bracket. Every matchup will be played as a best-of-three series, with the grand final adopting a best-of-five format. Unlike previous editions, there will be no match to determine third place.
Teams were seeded using a peer-ranking system, following the same approach used in IEM Katowice 2019, which allowed some teams to benefit more than others. paiN, in particular, saw the biggest advantage, gaining three spots in Stage 1 due to this method.
Notably, FaZe has decided to skip this season, opting not to take part in the Swedish tournament. Other squads that narrowly missed out on invites due to Valve’s January 6 Regional Standings include Complexity, BIG, and Astralis. However, some of the biggest names in Counter-Strike, such as Spirit, Vitality, G2, Natus Vincere, and Liquid, will be returning after previously skipping PGL Cluj-Napoca.
A total of 24 teams have secured their places, with 12 gaining entry via Valve’s rankings (eight advancing directly to Stage 2 and four into Stage 1), while the remaining slots were filled through last year’s ESL Challenger Leagues. Among the qualified teams, HEROIC earned their spot after signing the Sangal core, which had won ECL48 Europe. Additionally, two Australian squads, Housebets and Mindfreak, will be making their tier-one debut.
Stage 2 will feature Spirit, Vitality, The MongolZ, MOUZ, Falcons, G2, Natus Vincere, and Liquid, while Stage 1, arranged by seed order, includes Eternal Fire, paiN, 3DMAX, FURIA, GamerLegion, HEROIC, MIBR, FlyQuest, M80, Nemiga, SAW, NRG, Lynn Vision, TYLOO, Housebets, and Mindfreak.
The group stage will be played across two concurrent streams, with four best-of-three matches per day starting at 10:30 AM. The play-in phase will run from March 1-5, determining the final eight teams for Stage 2. Afterward, the main tournament will take place from March 7-16, where 16 teams will compete for a spot in the playoffs.
The first set of matchups for March 1 includes Eternal Fire vs. Mindfreak and M80 vs. FlyQuest at 10:30 AM, followed by HEROIC vs. SAW and 3DMAX vs. TYLOO at 1:00 PM. Later, MIBR faces Nemiga at 3:30 PM, FURIA takes on Lynn Vision at 4:10 PM, GamerLegion battles NRG at 6:15 PM, and paiN clashes with Housebets at 6:45 PM.
The event will feature a $1,000,000 prize pool, with $400,000 allocated to players and $600,000 going to organizations—a financial structure that played a role in securing team participation, a factor PGL did not provide. The prize distribution will award $100,000 to the champions, plus an additional $150,000 for their club, while the runner-up will earn $50,000 plus a $75,000 club share. Teams placing 3rd-4th receive $25,000 each, and those finishing in the top eight will secure $18,000 plus club bonuses. The payout continues down to $3,000 for the last-placed teams.
Additionally, fantasy competitions for the Play-In stage are now live, offering prizes from Chicken.gg. The top rewards include Hydra Gloves | Rattler (Field-Tested), M4A1-S | Hyper Beast (Field-Tested), and AWP | Hyper Beast (Field-Tested).
A diverse talent lineup has been confirmed for ESL Pro League Season 21, featuring well-known names from the esports broadcast scene. Chad “SPUNJ” Burchill, Alex “Machine” Richardson, and Tres “stunna” Saranthus will be leading the desk, with additional commentary provided by Harry “JustHarry” Russell, Hugo “Hugo” Byron, Henry “HenryG” Greer, and Janko “YNk” Paunović. Meanwhile, Freya “Freya” Spiers will be handling interviews and on-site coverage, joined by Jason “moses” O’Toole, Joshua “steel” Nissan, and Edona “dona” Muliu, who will be part of the playoff talent lineup. Ne0kai, DarfMike, Skriv, and xner will also contribute to the coverage.
With a stacked lineup, revamped format, and a massive prize pool, ESL Pro League Season 21 is shaping up to be one of the most competitive tournaments of the year, bringing the world’s top teams together in Stockholm.
