ESL announces two North American LANs for 2023

Event organizer ESL have released their planned schedule for the 2023 Pro Tour circuit, laying out the dates for key events like IEM Katowice, IEM Cologne, and ESL Pro League. North American fans will be pleased to see the return of IEM Dallas in late May, and the inclusion of Atlanta in the ESL Challenger circuit in mid-December.

The schedule set for 2023 is not remarkably different from the one that ESL published for the 2022 Pro Tour circuit. One key change of note includes the presence of IEM Spring and IEM Fall on the 2023 calendar, ESL Pro Tour Masters-level events whose locations are not yet set in stone. Another worthwhile change is the difference in venues for 2023's ESL Challenger events. This year saw ESL Challenger events in Valencia, Melbourne, and Rotterdam, while in 2023 the Challenger events are slated to be held in Hannover, Jönköping, Atlanta, and a fourth location yet to be determined.

While fans will certainly appreciate the return of IEM Dallas for 2023, many will be hoping to avoid the numerous visa issues that plagued this year's version of the event, which saw several players and top teams including Natus Vincere, Entropiq, and Heroic miss the tournament. 2023's other North American venue, Atlanta, was a mainstay of the DreamHack Open circuit, with the city hosting three DreamHack Open events from 2017 to 2019. Atlanta's DreamHack Open dominance was set to continue in 2021, but that event was ultimately called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Domestic squads will also be able to continue honing their skills in ESL Challenger League, with the tournament organizer announcing the dates for seasons 44 through 47 of the staple league.

The list of North American events set to be hosted by ESL in 2023 is:

• ECL Season 44 - January 17th - March 26th

• ECL Season 45 - April 4th - May 28th

• IEM Dallas - May 29th - June 4th

• ECL Season 46 - July 11th - September 17th

• ECL Season 47 - October 3rd - December 10th

• ESL Challenger Atlanta - December 15th - December 17th

Fans eager for the next North American LAN event will have to wait until May 29th for the beginning of IEM Dallas 2023, while ESL Challenger Atlanta is even further off, not set to begin until December 15th of that year.