ESL, FACEIT Merge to Form New Entity, Various Initiatives Planned for CS:GO

Two of the biggest CS:GO tournament organizers in the world, ESL and FACEIT, have been bought by Savvy Gaming Group (SVV) for $1.5 Billion USD and merged to form ESL FACEIT Group. It has been further reported that SVV was financially backed by the Saudi Arabian government's Public Investment Fund, which is one of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds.

This merger promises to deliver "an end-to-end solution that supports game developers and publishers to build sustainable competitive gaming communities and esports ecosystems".

As both ESL and FACEIT are involved in the CS:GO landscape, following the merger, they will now start working together more closely. Already a range of initiatives have been listed on the newly-merged company's website.

Additionally it has also been mentioned that the brands under the two companies - FACEIT, DreamHack, ESL, ESEA, and Badlion, will continue to operate normally.

Two of the largest tournament organizers in CS:GO merge to form ESL FACEIT Group

This merger between the two companies has made ESL FACEIT Group one of the biggest CS:GO tournament operators in the world. Not only do they have a huge stake in the global competitive circuit, but also have control over two of the biggest third-party matchmaking services - ESEA and FACEIT.

A few initiatives that ESL FACEIT Group has decided to focus on are as follows,

• Combat cheating by developing effective anti-cheat solutions.

  FACEIT and ESEA will be merging their tech knowledge and data infrastrutures to form stronger anti-cheat programs. Combating cheaters will remain a top priority for our new company.

• Revitalize and provide stability to North American CS:GO.

  Increasing the North American (NA) player base and esports scene for CS:GO remains a priority for healthy global competition. To achieve this the following will be implemented,

  Incentivizing NA teams to invest in NA-based rosters.

  FACEIT and ESEA expanding operations in NA.

  Bolstering the North American Cash Cup program on ESEA.

• Support the development of other regions.

  To strengthen other regions apart from NA, multiple steps have been taken like:

  Setting up a $100,000 USD fund to support local organizers.

  Bi-monthly Cash Cups offering $1000 USD have been organized for South America, Asia, Oceania, and South Africa.

  GGFORALL initiative expands to Brazil.

• Provide a better path to professional play.

  To provide more opportunities to upcoming players and teams the following steps will be taken,

  Expansion of FACEIT Pro League.

  Integration of rising star players from FPL into ESL LAN tournaments.

  Creating new online youth programs through FACEIT and EPL teams.

• Reward the fans for watching various tournaments.

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