ESL UK announces eighth ESL Premiership Season

ESL UK have announced the eighth edition of their regional Counter-Strike: Global Offensive championship, entitled the ESL Premiership Summer Season.

With £13,000 on offer for the ten teams competing in the tournament, it’s one to keep an eye on for all UK esports fans. The move also sees the tournament operator expand to running three seasons of the Premiership in a single year.

The online portion of the season is set to begin on 18th June, running all the way until 16th July. Games are set to be played on Monday evening, with each team playing twice on each day, beginning at 7pm BST. In a format similar to the previous season, the ten teams will be split into two groups of five, with the top team from each heading directly to the finals. The six teams left over, three from each group, will head to a playoffs phase of the tournament, run between 23rd July to the 30th, with the final two teams headed to the finals in Leicester.

ESL PREMIERSHIP; TROPHY; EPSILON; Photographer: Ravi Lakhani
The ESL Premiership trophy after Epsilon won the previous season. (Credit: ESL/
Ravi Lakhani)

The finals themselves will be held over the weekend of 11th-12th August, with the winning team set to receive the lion’s share of the £13,000 as well as a spot in the next season of ESEA’s Mountain Dew League, the division below the ESL Pro League. The venue for the final is yet to be announced. The entirity of the Summer Season

James Dean, Managing Director of ESL UK, said of the news: “CS:GO is a hugely popular game in the UK. We’re continuing to provide the best UK competition for players and teams thanks to a highly competitive schedule and the amazing opportunity to step up to the MDL. There’s never been more to play for in the UK’s Counter-Strike scene.”

Once again Intel are set to be onboard for the ESL Premiership, joining as the tournament’s headline sponsors. Scott Gillingham, UK Gaming and Esports at Intel added: “Intel is proud to be the headline sponsor for the ESL UK Premiership in 2018. Intel has been supporting gaming and esports for fifteen years now – and we’re still laser-focused on helping develop the industry. Our partnership with ESL is one of those key investments.”

Esports Insider says: ESL UK bring back their CS:GO league for another season, seeing it retain its title as the longest running tournament they operate. Expanding it to three seasons per year shows their long-term commitment to supporting CS:GO esports in the UK, and long may it continue.