ESL One Cologne is one of the oldest and most prestigious CS:GO tournaments, having been held six times, with the 2014 and 2015 editions being classified as Major events. Hosted at the LANXESS Arena, known as the “Cathedral of CS:GO” with a capacity of over 15,000 spectators, it is always packed to the brim whenever held. ESL One Cologne is undoubtedly a large-scale and high-quality tournament anticipated each year, on par with the Majors. Earlier this year, with the launch of the ESL Pro Tour system, ESL One Cologne was selected as one of two Master-level tournaments, featuring a prize pool of up to $1,000,000, equal to a Major event sponsored by Valve.
However, this tournament is now at risk of being moved online or even canceled, as last night, numerous major news outlets in Germany reported that the national authorities have decided to extend the ban on large gatherings until at least the end of August due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. This ban will significantly affect many large events scheduled to take place in the upcoming period, including ESL One Cologne 2020, which is set to occur from July 6-12.
This is the fourth CS:GO tournament organized by ESL this year affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. In February, IEM Katowice 2020 had to conduct its playoff rounds without any spectators; then in early March, ESL Pro League Season 11 transitioned to online play after the Maltese authorities imposed travel and entry restrictions. Most recently, the Major ESL One Rio scheduled for May has been postponed to November, leaving only one Major event in 2020.
Just a few hours ago, ESL also released an official statement confirming the above information and stating that “we will update information as soon as possible.”
“Today, the German authorities announced that the ban on large gatherings has been extended until August 31, 2020. We are working to assess the impact on ESL One Cologne 2020 and will update information as soon as possible.”
Stay tuned for the latest and hottest CS:GO news in our upcoming updates!