ESL will host a global competition to qualify for ESL’s Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CSGO) major in November. Originally scheduled for May 2020, the major was rescheduled to take place in Rio de Janeiro on Nov. 19 – 22, and the prize pool has doubled to $2 million. Valve has redesigned the qualification structure for majors to accommodate changes, and squads are now required to play through the Road to Rio tournament.
To qualify for the major, teams earn as many points as possible through competitions that count towards the Regional Major Rankings (RMR). Then, depending on their ranking, teams are divided into subgroups: Legends, Challengers, and Contenders (formerly known as New Challengers). The first of the qualifying competitions is ESL One: Road to Rio. Valve has confirmed additional RMR tournaments for the near future.
ESL One: Road to Rio overview
The top 56 teams from Europe, Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), North America, South America, Oceania, and Asia will compete in Road to Rio. Teams already qualified for the Rio Major after finishing in the top 14 at the StarLadder Major will compete to show they’re still in good form. Likewise, teams that qualified for the Rio Minor via closed qualifiers are set to compete. The online tournament features a $255,000 prize pool and grants RMR points. Road to Rio is scheduled to take place between April 22 and May 17. The regional distribution of prize pool and teams is as follows:
Europe
- Teams: 16
- Astralis
- Vitality
- G2
- North
- Complexity
- NiP
- Copenhagen Flames
- Dignitas
- ENCE
- FaZe
- fnatic
- Heretics
- Movistar Riders
- GODSENT
- TBD
- Prize Pool: $105,000
CIS
- Teams: 12
- Virtus.pro
- Winstrike
- Spirit
- Espada
- Unique
- Natus Vincere
- Gambit Youngsters
- Syman
- Hard Legion
- forZe
- TBD
- Prize Pool: $50,000
North America
- Teams: 12
- Evil Geniuses
- 100 Thieves
- c0ntact
- Bad News Bears
- Cloud9
- Envy
- Liquid
- MIBR
- FURIA
- Gen.G
- Triumph
- TBD
- Prize Pool: $70,000
South America
- Teams: 4
- RED Candids
- BOOM
- Others TBD
- Prize Pool: $10,000
Oceania
- Teams: 4
- Renegades
- ORDER
- Others TBD
- Prize Pool: $10,000
Asia
- Teams: 8 (Greater China:2, SEA:3, Middle East: 1)
- TYLOO
- Mazaalai
- Lucid Dream
- ViCi
- TIGER
- Others TBD
- Prize Pool: $10,000
Format and schedule
All regions will play in a round-robin group stage between April 22 and May 17. After the group stage, the tournament transitions into playoffs and concludes with a grand final. All series are best-of-three. The start dates for ESL One: Road to Rio are April 22 in most regions, but April 23 for Oceania and April 30 for CIS.
