ESL has announced a series of updates for its Counter-Strike 2 (CS2) tournaments in 2027, including a total prize pool of around $11.45 million across the year.
The company said this amount will be distributed through event prize money, club rewards, and its annual incentive system for the top 16 ranked teams. In addition, the ESL Grand Slam will continue in 2027, offering $1 million to any Counter Strike team that wins three Masters events and one Championship event within ten tournaments. If the Grand Slam is won twice in the same year, the total payout could rise to $12.45 million.
The first major event of the year, Intel Extreme Masters Kraków 2027, will take place from January 27 to February 7 in Kraków, Poland. Teams will arrive on January 25, with a media day scheduled for January 26.
The tournament will feature 24 teams and a total prize pool of $1.25 million. The winning team will receive $420,000 in prize money along with $80,000 in club reward. All matches will be played on LAN, meaning teams will compete in person.
Another major change is that all tournaments will now end on a stage with a live audience. ESL stated that Counter-Strike is best experienced in person rather than in a studio setting without fans.
The company is also planning to expand globally by hosting events in at least three new cities by the end of 2027. These cities will be spread across different continents, although specific locations have not yet been announced.
On top of the expansion plans, ESL is also shortening each Pro League season by one week, cutting two weeks from the yearly schedule. They will also include playoff viewership when calculating club rewards. From 2027, all events will have eight playoff teams, starting with IEM Kraków. This will remove some group stage matches and change prize distribution.
ESL is not the only tournament organiser committing major investment to Counter-Strike 2. Romanian esports production company PGL has also announced plans to invest at least $22 million into the CS2 ecosystem through a new Tier 1 tournament circuit scheduled for 2027 and 2028.
While CS2 tournaments keep pulling in huge investments, other organisers are having a tough time. League ApS, which currently runs the NLC, has told Riot Games it can’t keep operating the league anymore.
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