The Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Cologne will take place at a greater distance from gamescom in 2025. In addition, the ESL Faceit Group has announced a financial contribution of over $22m to the Counter-Strike ecosystem in 2025 and 2026.

ESL Faceit Group (EFG) has announced details of the ESL Pro Tour (EPT) 2025. The programme will integrate several professional ESL Counter-Strike 2 tournaments into one ecosystem. In 2025, the Lanxess Arena in Cologne will once again host one of the biggest Counter-Strike tournaments: the Intel Extreme Masters Cologne 2025, from 23 July to 3 August. The last three days of the tournament will be played in front of a live audience. This time the event will take place a few weeks before gamescom 2025 (20 to 24 August). The last edition took place the weekend before gamescom 2024. However, the finals were not integrated into the gamescom Environment, which also drew some criticism.

"The EPT for Counter-Strike 2 is the definition of EFG's commitment to fostering a fruitful competitive environment and continually nourishing Counter-Strike's heritage, as we've done since 2000," said Marc Winther, Director Game Ecosystems - Counter-Strike, at ESL Faceit Group. "With a circuit that spans multiple continents and integrates diverse levels of competition, we are excited to further fuel opportunities for world-class teams and passionate fans alike."

"EPT will see a financial contribution of 11M+ USD annually towards teams and players participating in the circuit. This annual contribution to teams and players comes on top of our hospitality spend included in each event, which will continue to feature top-of-the-line accommodation, flights, practice setups, and on-site hospitality," EFG states. In addition, teams will continue the Intel Grand Slam race for a chance to win the $1m cash prize. "EFG will enter the latest season of the EPT following a historic 2024 for the world's leading CS2 program. With hundreds of thousands of fans worldwide attending competitions across six countries, ESL CS2 tournaments sold out arenas across the globe and generated over 140M (according to escharts.com) hours watched. This year marked IEM's triumphant return to China, the celebration of the 100th IEM event in Dallas, and the most-watched IEM Cologne with more than 1M peak viewers for the Grand Finals."

EPT Championships

ESL Pro Tour Winter Championship Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Katowice 2025 January 29-February 9 / Katowice, Poland

ESL Pro Tour Summer Championship Intel Extreme Masters (IEM) Cologne 2025 July 23-August 3 / Cologne, Germany

ESL Pro Tour Masters

ESL Pro League Season 21: February 25-March 16 / Europe

IEM Spring 2025: April 21-27 / Location to be announced.

IEM Dallas 2025: May 19-25 / Dallas, Texas, USA

ESL Pro League Season 22: September 23-October 12 / Europe

IEM Chengdu 2025: November 3-9 / Chengdu, China

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Marcel Kleffmann
Marcel Kleffmann