The ESL has removed slots for teams from the North American region for IEM Katowice and IEM Cologne, making significant changes to the slot distribution for these championships
On November 17, 2023, ESL decided to revise the slot allocation for their major tournaments, primarily affecting IEM Katowice 2024, IEM Cologne 2024, ESL Pro League Season 19, and others.
The initial impetus for these changes was a statement from Valve, which instructed tournament operators to abandon partner teams that were not supposed to participate in qualifiers but received slots. More details on this can be found here.
IEM Katowice 2024
The article is divided by championships for easier reading. Starting with IEM Katowice 2024.
The winner of Elisa Masters Espoo 2023 loses its slot in the championship. It's unclear why such a tournament is needed, but 8 teams were already invited, initially to compete for a slot in IEM Katowice 2024, but now will only play for a prize pool of $200,000.
Regional distribution of invitations has been changed: the number of slots for North American teams is reduced from 2 to 1, with two additional slots added for teams from the ESL international ranking. This decision was due to the North American region not being at its best, and this update will make it even harder for teams to make a mark on the world stage.
IEM Cologne 2024
The winner of ESL Meisterschaft loses its slot in the tournament. Instead, there is an additional qualification for German teams, and now the winning team will only get a slot in the EPL S19 EU Conference.
The regional distribution of invitations has been changed: the number of slots for North American teams is reduced from 2 to 1, with one additional slot added for a team from the ESL international ranking.
Teams have already played in ESL Meisterschaft: Autumn 2023, with some already advancing to the playoffs, but their slot in IEM Cologne 2024 has been taken away.
ESL Pro League Season 19
The number of slots awarded to the best teams from the ESL international ranking for ESL Pro League Season 19 has increased from 3 to 4. Also, the number of slots in the European qualification Conference has been reduced from 2 to 1.
The winner of ESL Brazil Premier League Season 15 loses its direct invitation to the event. Instead, the number of slots in the South American qualification Conference has increased from 1 to 2. Currently, only 12 seasons of the Brazilian league have been completed, and it's unclear what will happen with seasons 13 and 14.
ESL Pro League Season 20
Two slots have been added for winners of regional ESL Challenger Leagues in Oceania and South America. Invitations awarded to winners of national ESL championships and open qualifiers have been removed.
The number of slots awarded to the best teams from the ESL ranking has been reduced from 4 to 3. Two additional invitations have been added for winners of partner events.
IEM China 2024
The invitation for a local team to IEM China 2024 has been removed and replaced with a LAN qualification. The number of slots in the European closed qualification has been reduced from 2 to 1.
One slot has been added for the South American closed qualification.
As can be seen, the company has reduced the number of slots at all its major championships that teams could earn in external championships. Now, open and closed qualifiers will be crucial, as for some teams, this is their only chance to reach the masses.
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