In a bid to bring more Counter-Strike: Global Offensive teams to its flagship ESL Pro League, the ESL commissioner announced the official launch of the “Request for Proposals” system. Teams that express an interest in competing at the ESL Pro League level can submit a form and then a review process will take place. This search was voted on and approved by the existing ESL teams in order to bring in another team for Season 14 and beyond.
ESL has revealed that it has already engaged in informal conversations with more than 15 teams looking to join the league. However, according to the organization, it now feels that this is a good time to bring on another partnered team with the league enjoying good financial footing. ESL’s Commissioner and Co-CEO Ralf Recihert said of the search, “…with our foundations now in place and a strong financial year behind us, it was the right time to explore if and how we could extend this stability and opportunity to another team.
After filling out the interest form, teams will undergo a review process that will seek to find out more information on the organizations’ financials and ownership/legal characteristics. Competitive performance, brand vision, and values, market research and engagement levels, personnel and infrastructure setup will also be a focus of the organization review.
The process will be done in six phases that cover everything from starting the search to member teams voting on the team to be included.
Phase and timeline for team addition:
- Phase 1: RFP Launch to be completed by March 25;
- Phase 2: Invitation Phase (three weeks) where teams will submit signed formal Declarations of Interest and NDAs;
- Phase 3: Submission phase (four weeks) where potential teams receive applicant pack, review and deliver proposals;
- Phase 4: Commissioner review (three weeks) that will see the ESL Commissioner undertake an initial review of all proposals;
- Phase 5: Bidding process (one week) where organizations make binding offers for league slots;
- Phase 6: Member Meeting Vote (two weeks) executive board makes recommendations.
Any interested organization can visit here for more information.
