ESL Announces Changes to the Qualification Process of ESL One Cologne 2020 due to Coronavirus Pandemic

Cover And Thumbnail Image Courtesy: ESL Gaming

• ESL is implementing changes to the qualification process for ESL One Cologne 2020 due to coronavirus pandemic.
  
  
• As the tournaments leading up to ESL One Cologne 2020 shifted from LAN to regionalised online competitions, necessary changes had to be made.
  
  
• ESL has divided the ESL Pro Tour rankings into various regional rankings, through which teams will be selected for the tournament.

Another CS:GO tournament is forced to implement necessary changes due to the coronavirus pandemic, as ESL announces changes to the qualification process of ESL One Cologne 2020. According to the organizers, due to the competitions leading up to the tournament moving from LAN to regionalized online competitions, they are adapting their qualification system as well.

[Also Read: DreamHack Masters Spring 2020 to take Place Online due to Coronavirus Situation with an Increased Prize Pool]

Initially, it had been planned that the top eight teams as per the ESL Pro Tour rankings would be invited to the main event with the following eight would be invited for the Playin. But, with changes being introduced to ESL Pro League Season 11, along with the introduction of ESL One: Road to Rio and DreamHack Masters Spring, teams have been separated into various regions.

So moving ahead, teams will now be earning their points for the pro tour by competing regionally, which might lead to them securing a slot for themselves in ESL One Cologne 2020. Teams will retain the points previously won by them in the ongoing ESL Pro Tour.

The organizers also decided the number of teams being invited to ESL One Cologne 2020, based on the region of the current top sixteen teams as per the ESL Pro Tour rankings. The end result is as follows,

For now, ESL has not given any information related to how the eight more teams for the PlayIn would be selected.

[Also Read: BLAST Premier Spring Showdown and Finals Split into 2 Regions and Moved Online due to Coronavirus Pandemic]

Information on the point distribution for the three tournaments leading up to ESL One Cologne 2020, as per the different regions and the placement obtained by a team can be obtained by clicking here.

The $1,000,000 tournament which is scheduled to take place from 6^th-12^th July will mark the end of all the CS:GO tournaments planned to take place in the first half of 2020. Plans for CS:GO tournaments taking place after this point of time is still unclear, with expectations of two more qualifier tournaments for ESL One: Rio 2020, the only CS:GO Major to take place this year.