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The ESL Challenger League Season 46 is a major online tournament for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, featuring teams from Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific regions. The tournament is part of the official ESL Pro Tour and serves as a qualifier for the ESL Pro League Season 19.
The tournament has undergone some changes in its format, schedule, and prize pool distribution compared to the previous seasons. Here are the key updates for ESL Challenger League Season 46:
New Format:
North America and Asia will follow a single-group round-robin format leading into playoffs. In Europe, the tournament will consist of three stages. The first stage will feature four groups competing in a round-robin format. In the second stage, three groups will participate in a double-elimination format, leading to the playoffs. All matches are best-of-three, with the Grand Final being a best-of-five.
Schedule:
The regional seasons will have different start and end dates, as follows:
Europe:
The regional season is set to begin on 3 October 2023.
North America and Asia:
Both regional seasons are set to start on 15 August 2023 including a break during the ESL Pro League (EPL) Season 18 during August 30 – October 1.
The Playoffs for all three regions are scheduled from November 20 to December 3, 2023.
Prize Pool Distribution:
The total prize pool for the tournament is USD 240,000, which will be split among the three regions as follows:
- Europe: USD 100,000
- North America: USD 100,000
- Asia: USD 40,000
The prize pool will be distributed among the top eight teams as follows:
Europe:
1st place: USD 15,000
2nd place: USD 10,000
3rd place: USD 8,000
4th place: USD 6,500
North America:
1st place: USD 35,000
2nd place: USD20,000
3rd place: USD 12,500
4th place: USD 7,500
Asia:
1st place: USD 15,000
2nd place: USD 8,000
3rd place: USD 5,000
4th place: USD 3,000
The ECL Pro League slots are allocated to the winners and runners-up of each regional tournament, guaranteeing qualification for the top two teams of each region in ESL Pro League Season 19. The teams from second place to 18th place will qualify for S47 of the Challenger League.
