ESL has announced the launch of ESL One Belo Horizonte, the first ESL One event in South America. Sponsored by Intel, the CS:GO tournament will feature a $200,000 prize and will run between June 15th and 17th.
ESL heading to Belo Horizonte
The tournament will take place the Mineirinho Arena in Belo Horizonte, Brazil’s sixth largest city. The arena is the biggest indoor sporting arena in the country and can host up to 25,000 fans. The FIVB Volleyball Men’s Club World Championship took place at the venue in 2014.
“It comes as no surprise that we are returning to Brazil after such a successful debut of the CS:GO Pro League Season 4 Finals in the region in 2016,” said ESL Senior Vice President of Product Ulrich Schulze. “The incredible crowd of thousands of fans cheering for their local heroes SK Gaming, has proven the country’s great potential to be the heart of CS:GO community in South America. We cannot wait to come back as we are expecting a truly legendary event.”
The event will start with group stage qualifiers, running between June 13th and 14th. Four teams will receive a direct invite, whereas 4 will go through qualifiers. Afterwards, eight of the world’s best teams will have the chance to claim the prize and the glory.
Friday will see group stage decider matches with a bo3 format. Semifinals are scheduled for Saturday, again with b03 matches. The grand finale, a bo5 match, will happen on Sunday, deciding the CS:GO champion.
“We are very excited to announce ESL One Belo Horizonte 2018,” said ESL Brazil CEO Leo De Biase. “This means a lot to the region as it will definitely foster the growth of the local esports scene and inspire more players to join the ESL grassroots ladders, chasing their dream to also become a legend and following the footsteps of their heroes.”
Competing for the Grand Slam
ESL One Belo Horizonte is also a part of the recently launched Intel Grand Slam series. The Grand Slam initiative will grant the first team that wins four CS:GO competitions by ESL and DreamHack in a 12-month period an additional prize of $1 million.
The qualifying events include the Intel Extreme Masters, ESL One, ESL Pro League, and DreamHack Masters series.
ESL is on fire
The esports company has been hitting headlines continuously with all their great developments. ESL One Belo Horizonte is the second major tournament announced by ESL in March. ESL One Birmingham, a Dota 2 competition with $1 million up for grabs, was announced in the middle of the month.
Moreover, the recently finished ESL One Katowice, a CS:GO event that took place in Poland, revealed impressive viewership figures.
The company has also been active in corporate waters by further expanding its partnerships with sponsors. Telecommunications giant Vodafone and global betting company Betway joined forces with ESL, which gives the company even more resources to further develop the esports scene.
With such a positive outlook for the industry, it comes as no surprise that ESL is going all-in in a variety of ways. Projected to reach close to a billion dollars in revenue in 2018, the competitive gaming market is showing no signs of slowing.
