ESL introduces first 18 teams to attend ESL One Cologne

The best CS:GO teams will go head to head at ESL One Cologne after the first 18 teams were revealed earlier today. 

Astralis, Team Liquid, Fnatic, and G2 are set to headline the main event alongside the top eight squads in the world, according to ESL. The play-in stage, which is used as a qualifier, will feature other world-class teams like FURIA, Evil Geniuses, and Vitality. 

Although the event was initially delayed, it’s been given the green light to take place from Aug. 21 to 30. It’ll be one of the largest tournaments of the year with a $1 million prize pool. 

ESL One Cologne is touted as one of the biggest CS:GO events on the calendar but it won’t have a live audience because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The tournament organizer is hopeful that it can use the studio in Cologne from Aug. 21 to 30 for all matches, according to HLTV. 

The seeding for this event follows the ESL Pro Tour ranking system, which is slightly different from the commonly-used HLTV rankings. Vitality, for example, are the seventh-best team in the world, according to the ESL rankings, but are in second place in HLTV’s rankings. 

The first 18 teams invited to attend ESL One Cologne can be found below: 

• Astralis
• Fnatic
• Na’Vi
• G2
• Team Liquid
• Mousesports
• 100 Thieves
• FaZe Clan
• Vitality
• FURIA
• Ninjas in Pyjamas
• Renegades
• Cloud9 
• BIG
• TYLOO
• Sprout 
• Heretics