ESL announces women’s CS:GO circuit

Women’s circuit to be launched as part of #GGForAll program.

ESL has announced its plans to launch a new women’s CS:GO circuit which will debut in 2022.

The circuit, which comes under ESL’s #GGForAll program, aims to fight in-game toxicity and match manipulation. The circuit will see a total prize pool of US$500,000 across regional leagues, DreamHack tournaments and ESL Cash Cups.

The new circuit will feature eight teams from North America and Europe where they will battle it out for US$75,000. The top three teams from both regions will qualify for the offline finals which will take place during DreamHack Winter in November 2022 and DreamHack Dallas in June 2022. The six teams then will be joined by additional qualifying squads from South America and Asia.

The two DreamHack tournaments will also host US$100,000 standalone tournaments which will see eight teams that will get qualification either directly or via invites. The additional leagues and offline events will be part of a series of online cash cups which will take place every month in E-Sports Entertainment Association League (ESEA), where the prize pool of US$4,000 will be divided across the four regions

Roberta Hernandez, SVP People and Culture at ESL Gaming, commented:

“By providing an infrastructure equal to their male counterparts, we are thrilled to create more visibility and opportunities for women in the esports space, as well as support them in their professional development and to help make their dreams come true.

“This is only the first part of a number of #GGForAll initiatives we are currently working on and we can’t wait to tell you more about what is yet to come.

“ESL also says that one of the “discussion points” for the new Women Players Council will be the integration of the women’s circuit winners into the ESL Pro Tour.”

ESL has also announced that it will be creating a talent development program to provide the upcoming talents the ‘necessary tools and tactics’ needed to become successful in bringing tournament broadcasts to life via commentary and analysis. It will also work on integrating the women’s circuit players in the ESL Pro Tour.