ESL Pro League Season 24 starts on October 3 in Katowice, Poland, and runs for nine days. Sixteen teams, a $1,000,000 prize pool, one point in the ESL Grand Slam VII race and a finals weekend inside Spodek Arena. The whole event is offline, which matters more than usual after several seasons of online group play.
Twelve teams arrived through invitations based on the global VRS ranking as of August 2026. The remaining four earned their slots through the regional ESL Challenger League. ESL also rebuilt the format: every one of the 16 squads begins in a single Swiss stage, and every match there is a Best-of-3. Three wins send you to the playoffs, three losses send you home. Eight teams survive.
Schedule and Format
| Stage | Dates | Format |
|---|---|---|
| Arrival / Media | October 1-2, 2026 | – |
| Swiss Stage | October 3-7, 2026 | All matches Bo3, 3-0 advance, 0-3 out |
| Playoffs Media Day | October 8, 2026 | – |
| Playoffs | October 9-11, 2026 | Single elimination, Bo3 (final Bo5) |
| Departure | October 12, 2026 | – |
Quarterfinals, semifinals and the third-place match are Bo3 series. The grand final is a Best-of-5. The playoff bracket plays out at Spodek Arena in front of a live crowd, which is the part the Katowice regulars have been waiting for. If the Swiss terminology or the Bo3/Bo5 shorthand is new to you, our sports betting glossary covers it in plain language.
Prize Money Breakdown
The million is split between player prize money and club rewards, and the split is steep at the top.
| Placement | Player Prize Money | Club Rewards |
|---|---|---|
| Champion | $125,000 | $170,000 |
| Runner-up | $50,000 | $125,000 |
Beyond cash and the trophy, the winner banks a point toward ESL Grand Slam VII. The event is also an S-Tier stop on the ESL Pro Tour Masters level, so ranking movement here feeds directly into invitations for the next wave of majors and Masters events.
All 16 Teams at ESL Pro League Season 24
Team Spirit, Team Vitality, FURIA, MOUZ, Team Falcons, Legacy, G2 Esports, Aurora Gaming, Natus Vincere, BetBoom Team, 9z Team and PARIVISION came in on VRS invitations. M80, TYLOO, 1win and ShindeN qualified through the Challenger League circuit.
Invited Rosters
| Team | Players | Coach |
|---|---|---|
| Team Spirit | magixx, zont1x, donk, sh1ro, tN1R | hally |
| Team Falcons | NiKo, TeSeS, m0NESY, kyousuke, karrigan | zonic |
| MOUZ | torzsi, xertioN, Spinx, xelex, PR | sycrone |
| Team Vitality | apEX, ZywOo, flameZ, mezii, ropz | XTQZZZ |
| Natus Vincere | b1t, Aleksib, iM, w0nderful, makazze | B1ad3 |
| FURIA | yuurih, KSCERATO, FalleN, molodoy, YEKINDAR | sidde |
| G2 Esports | huNter-, HeavyGod, matys, NertZ, r1nkle | sAw |
| Aurora Gaming | XANTARES, Wicadia, woxic, Jimpphat, kyxsan | ashhh |
| PARIVISION | Jame, xiELO, zweih, FL1T, HObbit | dastan |
| BetBoom Team | s1ren, zorte, Magnojez, Boombl4, d1Ledez | Fierce |
| Legacy | latto, dumau, n1ssim, try, bobz | adr |
| 9z Team | max, HUASOPEEK, luchov, meyern, dgt | BIT |
Qualifier Spotlight: 1win
1win come in through ECL Season 51 Europe with the former TDK core: nafany, Ax1Le, ArtFr0st, fame and BELCHONOKK, coached by groove. That lineup took shape fast over the summer. TDK parted ways with sugaR and Xant3r on July 15, added fame and BELCHONOKK two days later on July 17, and were signed by 1win on August 1. Two months later they are playing Team Vitality in the opening round. Honestly, we would not bet against nafany and Ax1Le stealing a map off someone big in a Bo3 Swiss stage.
The Roster Change That Could Matter Most
PARIVISION benched slaxejezzz on September 17 and signed HObbit, reuniting him with coach dastan. Two and a half weeks of practice before an S-Tier LAN is thin, and Jame‘s structures usually need more time than that to click with a new body. Their first test is Legacy, which is about as winnable an opener as PARIVISION could have asked for.
Opening Round Matchups
Eight Bo3 series kick off the Swiss stage on October 3:
- G2 Esports vs Natus Vincere
- Team Spirit vs ShindeN
- Team Vitality vs 1win
- MOUZ vs M80
- Team Falcons vs TYLOO
- Legacy vs PARIVISION
- Aurora Gaming vs 9z Team
- FURIA vs BetBoom Team
G2 against NAVI is the headline draw of day one, and it is the one Ukrainian fans will have circled. G2’s roster is young around huNter-, with matys, HeavyGod and r1nkle all carrying heavy fragging duties, while Aleksib and B1ad3 bring the more rigid of the two systems. A loss there is not fatal in Swiss, but it drops you into the brutal half of the bracket immediately.
FURIA vs BetBoom is the other opener we are circling. FalleN, KSCERATO and yuurih now play alongside molodoy and YEKINDAR, a mix that swings between dominant and chaotic depending on the map pool. Boombl4‘s BetBoom thrive against exactly that kind of inconsistency.
Favourites and Dark Horses
Team Spirit arrive top of the VRS pile with donk and sh1ro, and the Swiss format suits them: Bo3s all the way through means fewer coin-flip exits. Team Vitality with ZywOo and ropz and Team Falcons with NiKo, m0NESY and karrigan are the obvious counterweights. We rate MOUZ slightly below that trio this season, mostly because xelex and PR are still growing into their roles next to Spinx and xertioN.
For dark horses, Aurora Gaming are the pick. XANTARES, woxic, Wicadia, Jimpphat and kyxsan under ashhh have the firepower to run through a soft Swiss path, and their opener against 9z Team is a realistic first win. Legacy and 9z both feel like 1-3 or 2-3 exits to us, with TYLOO, M80 and ShindeN facing an uphill start.
If You Plan to Bet on EPL S24
A nine-day Bo3 marathon produces a lot of markets, and a lot of traps. Map-specific form matters far more than headline rankings in a Swiss stage where every series goes to at least two maps, and lineups like PARIVISION with a fresh fifth are exactly where early-tournament prices get mispriced in both directions. New to this? Start with our guide on how to bet on sports, and read up on your rights as a player before depositing anywhere. Set limits, stick to them, and gamble responsibly. How we test operators and build our ratings is laid out in our editorial policy.
One side note worth keeping in view: Brazilian club Keyd Stars recently shut down its CS2 division, citing betting restrictions in the country. Brazilian CS still has FURIA, Legacy and a huge fanbase in Katowice, but the funding picture behind the scene is tightening.
First Bo3s begin October 3. The bracket closes out at Spodek on October 11 with a Best-of-5 grand final.