ESL Gaming Australia, local division of the world’s largest esports company, today announced the construction of a new ecosystem for the popular FPS title Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (‘CS:GO’) in Australia & New Zealand (‘ANZ’).

Following a successful year of the ESL ANZ Champs, which saw over 145 CS:GO players from across ANZ compete, and over 2 million unique viewers from across the region tune in to live broadcasts, the league will build upon this success by adding two new tiers of competition underneath the existing championship – ANZ Main and ANZ Amateur.

The new ecosystem will feature a collective total of $55,000 AUD of cash prizing across all three leagues in 2022, with the majority being allocated to the professional ESL ANZ Champs tier. The top two teams in each season of the ESL ANZ Champs will be awarded with a coveted slot into the global ESL Pro League Conference – the first stage of the ESL Pro League. Any teams who advance from the conference will then compete against the best teams in the world in the ESL Pro League Group Stage, and fight for the lion’s share of a $825,000 USD prize pool.

More opportunities will also be given to entry-level teams, players, commentators and admins, with competition in the new grassroots tiers running across player-friendly times. Players wanting to compete in the new ecosystem will be able to do so by qualifying via a Promo-Relegation Open Qualifier set to start in late January 2022. As part of the new ecosystem, CS:GO fans and casual players will also be given new ways to interact with the leagues, through ESL-run community PUG (Pick-Up Game) nights and other community activations.

These improvements to the ESL ANZ Champs ecosystem come with the merger of the ESEA Premier and ESEA Open leagues into ANZ Main and ANZ Amateur respectively. Existing players from ESEA Premier and ESEA Open will be re-seeded into the new ecosystem based on their final placement in Season 39 and their results from the promo-relegation open qualifier.

“We are heavily investing in the development and success of the ANZ CS:GO community, with these opportunities providing players and organisations with the structure and incentive to continue to grow for future years.” said James Fletcher, Product Manager, ESL ANZ Champs. “Through the strengthening of our existing professional-tiered league, and the introduction of new community-focused competitions, we will be creating a cohesive grassroots ecosystem that sets our region up for success”.

For updates on the ESL ANZ Champs, fans can follow @ESLAustralia on social media.