- An ESL Road to Rio competition will run from April 22 to May 17, in order to fill the programming gap left by the postponed Rio de Janeiro Major.
- Six divisions, featuring 56 teams in total, will compete for qualification points for the November Major. The teams were chosen based on recent Major/Minor performance.
- Valve Corporation will nominate more qualifier tournaments in 2020, which will include teams outside of the Road to Rio.
ESL and Valve Corporation have revealed the “ESL One: Road to Rio” competition; the official qualifier for the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) Rio de Janeiro Major in November. Running from April 22-May 17 and featuring a $225K USD prize pool, the event will (like all ESL One events) be “powered by Intel,” and will be one of multiple online regional competitions planned this year.
The original Major was scheduled for May 11-24, but was delayed to Autumn due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The event will now feature a doubled $2M total prize pool; a consequence of replacing the second Valve-sponsored Major of the year.
The Road to Rio comprises 56 global teams, divided into separate divisions for Europe, CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States), North America, South America, Oceania, and Asia. Teams will compete for ranking points that will be used to establish a qualification order for the Major in November.
Major competitions have historically qualified teams through tiers. The Legends (teams who placed in the top eight of the previous Major) and Returning Challengers (teams who placed 9th-14th) will now compete in their respective Road to Rio division, alongside teams who qualified for the Major Regional Minors prior to the event’s postponement.
“We believe this tournament is the best response to the gap that rescheduling the CS:GO Major to November has created,” said Michal Blicharz, VP Pro Gaming at ESL, in a statement. “ESL One: Road to Rio will be a spectacle for the whole world to enjoy.”
