The upcoming season of the ESL Pro League will be played entirely online due to coronavirus concerns, ESL announced today.
The CS:GO Pro League finals were set to be played in the 1stBank Center in Denver, but now, it’ll be moved to a studio location without a live audience in Europe.
ESL made this decision after Malta, the country in which the group stage’s original studio is located, instituted a wide range of travel restrictions and quarantine regulations today.
“We fully support all measures aimed at containing the COVID-19 dynamics as much as possible,” ESL said. “These travel restrictions have made it impossible for a large amount of staff and the majority of teams to make their way to the planned season location.”
The teams will have to play matches from home, team houses, or in a suitable boot camp located in Europe. ESL will provide dedicated European servers for the matches.
Most of the teams are in Europe already, according to ESL, because EPL season 11 will kick off on Monday, March 16. The Counter-Strike Professional Players Association (CSPPA) and teams are being “extremely supportive” and are offering their facilities and boot camp locations to fellow players coming from other countries.
If you’ve bought a ticket for the EPL season 11 finals, ESL will refund the value after the 1stBank Center provides more information.
