ESL reveal ECL S51 Cup #1 Invites

ESL have revealed the invites for the first ESL Challenger League Season 51 Cup, seeing sixteen teams invited via the Valve Regional Standings (VRS) while two teams qualified via ESEA Elite. Compared to Season 50, which ran with anywhere from 21 to 24 teams, ESL Challenger League this year is running their NA events with sixteen teams in attendance.

The winner of each of the four ECL Season 51 Cups will advance to the regional finals, where the winner of that tournament will qualify for ESL Pro League Season 24.

For this cup, the only teams to decline invites were Passion UA, NRG, and the former Wildcard roster. The top teams to claim an invite are M80 and Masrborne, with the event being the first online tournament of the year for both teams. Other top teams set to compete in the cup include Voca, BOSS, and Sakura.

SkinRave/Rave also accepted an invite, however it is unknown if they plan on competing in the cup as the roster is reportedly weighing up disbanding.

ECL Cups feature a double-elimination bracket where the winner will secure their place in the regional finals. The winner of this edition of the ECL Cup can participate in future cups to secure themselves an advantage in the regional finals. If a team wins two ECL Cups, they qualify directly for the final of the regional finals. Three wins will result in the cancellation of the semifinals. If a squad wins all four ECL Cups, they bypass the regional finals and qualify directly for ESL Pro League.

The team list for the ESL Challenger League Season 51 Cup #1 is as follows:

ESL Challenger League Season 51 Cup #1 is set to start on February 17th.