ESL are set to give the fans a glimpse of the future before the ESL Pro League Season 17 title-decider
ESL will host a Counter-Strike 2 showmatch before the best two teams of the ESL Pro League Season 17 lock horns in the Grand Final of the LAN tournament. It will be the first-ever LAN CS2 showmatch.
THE WORLD’S FIRST COUNTER-STRIKE 2 SHOWMATCH ON LAN!
🗓️26th March 2023
⏰14:25 CEST
📍St Julian’s, Malta 🇲🇹
Who do you want to see in the server? 🤔#ESLProLeague pic.twitter.com/eyB6BVijkF
— ESL Counter-Strike 2 (@ESLCS) March 25, 2023
Cloud9 became the first finalist of the tournament on Saturday as they got the better of ENCE in the first Semi Final. FaZe grabbed the remaining Grand Final spot on Sunday with a 2-1 win over Na’Vi in the second Semi Final.
ESL did not announce the lineup for the showmatch, but it’s unlikely that any of the two finalists will be involved. The organizers will probably pick players who have already dropped out of the competition. The match is also expected to take place on the Dust II map, which is the only map CS2 Limited Test edition players can access at the moment.
Valve announced on Wednesday that they have opened up the CS2 Limited Test version. They are rolling out the game to a small group of players before launching the full version this summer.
The new CS2 will come with several improved features, including new smoke mechanics and tick-rate independent servers. The first CS2 Major is set to take place in March 2024. Valve plan to retire competitive first-gen CSGO after the Paris Major in May.
The ESL CS2 showmatch will begin at 2:25 PM Central European Summer Time (CEST) on March 26. The match will take place at the InterContinental, in St.Julian’s, Malta. The Grand Final will go on at the same venue as well.
