On September 25, the 43rd season of ESL Challenger League kicks off. Teams divided into three divisions based on region (Europe, North America, and Asia Pacific) will compete for spots in ESL Conference Season 18.
In Europe, 24 teams will compete, including Spirit, Sprout, and Bad News Eagles, for example. The tournament playoffs will be double elimination, with the team that advances to the grand finals via the top seed in the tournament receiving a one-card advantage. Many people consider Spirit to be the favorite of the tournament, as it occupies the highest position in the world ranking among the participants, but it is also known that this team does not always manage to show stable results.
In the North American division there are 16 teams, which will be divided into two groups, playing according to the round robin scheme. The top four from each group will qualify for the playoffs, which will be played according to the same scheme as in Europe. The highest ranking among the participants has Brazilian MIBR, which expects to rehabilitate itself for the unsuccessful performance in the previous season.
Finally, in the Asia-Pacific Division, the competition has already started. Chinese Lynn Vision and Mongolian ICH are considered favorites here, having confidently won their opening matches.