ESL announce plans to host LANs in three new cities, move to eight-team playoffs in 2027

ESL FACEIT Group have announced a number of changes coming to their Counter-Strike 2 circuit in 2027, with one of the most notable changes see the tournament organizer commit to hosting events in "at least 3 new cities" next year. Another highlight in ESL's announcement is a much-desired format change that will see eight teams qualify to playoffs at IEM and EPL events instead of the previous six squads.

This change will see ESL use a more traditional eight-team single elimination bracket rather than the previous system which gave the top teams in the group stage bye's in the semi-finals. Additionally, ESL have stated that starting in 2027 all playoffs matches will be played in front of a live audience.

ESL have also shared plans to introduce four Wildcard invites for IEM Krakow 2027, with ESL stating they will use them rarely and that:

"Our thought process in adding these Wildcard Invites is to enable teams to be in a position to make post-Major changes which would change their three-player core, but still maintain a world-class lineup and not have to start completely from scratch."

In terms of the total prize purse on offer in 2027, ESL have shared that up to $12,450,000 will be on offer should the ESL Grand Slam be won twice in 2027. This keeps their total purse in line with the $11m and $10m figures boasted by PGL and BLAST, respectively.

You can read ESL's full announcement below: