The Hunt For Esl Cologne: A City-Wide Esports Adventure

ESL One Cologne is a Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament run by the Electronic Sports League, with the first three tournaments being sponsored by video game developer Valve. The tournament has been held annually since 2014, with the exception of 2020 when it was held online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. ESL One Cologne is hosted in the Lanxess-Arena in Cologne, Germany, which is also the location of the ESL's headquarters.

ESL One Cologne 2014

The tournament was livestreamed on the official ESL Twitch channel, with over 400,000 concurrent viewers watching the grand finals, and 2,950,600 total unique viewers across four days.

Format

The format of the tournament was as follows:

• 16 teams were divided into four groups of four.
• All group matches were best-of-one.
• In the first round of matches, the highest and lowest seeds faced each other, and the second and third seeds played each other.
• The winner of those two matches then played to determine the first team to move on to the playoff stage, while the losers played to eliminate one team from the tournament.
• With one team advanced and one eliminated, the final two teams faced off to decide the remaining playoff spot.
• This format is known as the GSL format, named for the Global StarCraft II League.
• The top two teams in each group proceeded to the playoffs.
• The playoff bracket consisted of eight teams, two from each group.
• All of these matches were single elimination, best-of-three.
• Teams advanced in the bracket until a winner was decided.

Teams

The teams were split into four seeded groups. The top seven teams from EMS One Katowice 2014 qualified as Legends. LGB eSports would have qualified as the eighth finalist from Katowice 2014, but disbanded before Cologne 2014. Six teams from Europe, one team from North America, one team from the Oceanic region, and one team from India played online qualifiers to take part in the tournament.

Results

Ninjas in Pyjamas won the event by beating Fnatic 2-1 in the finals.

ESL and the Lanxess Arena

ESL, formerly known as the Electronic Sports League, is a German esports organiser and production company that produces video game competitions worldwide. Based in Cologne, Germany, ESL has eleven offices and multiple international TV studios globally.

The Lanxess Arena is an indoor arena in Cologne, Germany. It is the home of the Kölner Haie, an ice hockey team, and is also used by the VFL Gummersbach handball team, the Köln RheinStars basketball team, and as a concert venue. The Lanxess Arena was the highest-attended arena of 2019, with 699,924 tickets sold.

ESL has hosted several events at the Lanxess Arena, including:

• ESL One Cologne 2015
• ESL One Cologne 2016
• ESL One Cologne 2017
• ESL One Cologne 2018
• ESL One Cologne 2019
• IEM Cologne 2022
• IEM Cologne 2023

The Lanxess Arena has earned the nickname "The Cathedral of Counter-Strike" due to its association with ESL's Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournaments. ESL One Cologne 2018 earned the arena this nickname, and it has since been used to market ESL's IEM Cologne events in 2022 and 2023.

ESL's events at the Lanxess Arena have featured competitions with large prize pools, such as the $1,000,000 prize pool for ESL One Cologne 2016 and the $300,000 prize pool for ESL One Cologne 2019. These events have also attracted large numbers of attendees, with ESL One Cologne events from 2015 to 2019 selling out the arena's 15,000 to 18,500 seats.

ESL One Cologne 2019

The tournament was divided into two stages: the group stage and the playoffs. The group stage featured two groups of eight teams each, seeded based on the ESL CS:GO World Rankings. The initial matches were best-of-one, while all subsequent matches were best-of-three. The top three teams from each group advanced to the playoffs.

The playoffs featured six teams, with the winners of the groups advancing directly to the semifinals, while the remaining four teams played in the quarterfinals. The quarterfinals and semifinals were best-of-three, while the finals were best-of-five. The broadcast talent for the tournament included well-known personalities such as OJ Borg, Machine, stunna, and Thorin.

Team Liquid emerged as the champions of ESL One Cologne 2019, defeating Team Vitality in the grand final. This win secured them an additional $1,000,000 as it was their fourth premier win in the Intel Grand Slam.

ESL One Cologne 2020

The tournament was to be divided into online European, North American, Oceanic, and Asian divisions, with a total of 16 teams directly qualifying. The group stage was to feature two double-elimination format groups, each comprising eight teams seeded using EPT Rankings and ESL World Rankings. The top three teams from each group would then advance to the playoffs, with the group stage winners going straight to the semifinals. The quarterfinals and semifinals were to be played in a best-of-three format, while the grand final was to be a best-of-five series.

Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, ESL One Cologne 2020 was cancelled, and the event was transitioned to a closed studio environment with online divisions. This decision was made to ensure the safety of the players, staff, and fans while adhering to the German government's restrictions.

ESL One Cologne 2015

Format

The tournament format was similar to that of ESL One Cologne 2014. The 16 teams were divided into four groups of four. The group stage was seeded based on the ESL CS:GO World Rankings. The initial matches were Bo1, and all following matches were Bo3. The top three teams from each group advanced to the Playoffs:

• Group stage winners advanced to the Semifinals
• Group stage runners-up advanced to the Quarterfinals as the High Seeds
• Group stage 3rd place teams advanced to the Quarterfinals as the Low Seeds

The Playoffs were a single-elimination bracket. The Quarterfinals and Semifinals were Bo3, and the Grand Final was Bo5.

Teams

The teams that participated in the tournament included:

• Ninjas in Pyjamas (NiP)
• Team LDLC.com
• Cloud9
• Fnatic
• Virtus.pro
• Epsilon eSports
• Team Dignitas
• Natus Vincere

Results

Ninjas in Pyjamas won the tournament by beating Fnatic 2-1 in the finals. Over 400,000 concurrent viewers watched the grand finals, while 2,950,600 total unique viewers watched the event across four days.

Frequently asked questions