ESL One LA Major, ESL One Birmingham coming back as online leagues

ESL has announced major changes in the upcoming ESL One Los Angeles Major 2020.

Several tournaments were postponed and canceled due to the coronavirus outbreak and ESL One Los Angeles 2020 was among that lot. The tournament was supposed to take place on March 15 but ESL postponed the event indefinitely after the US government imposed a travel ban on Europe due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

With no end in sight to the situation, ESL has decided to turn ESL One Los Angeles 2020 and ESL One Birmingham 2020 into online tournaments.

ESL One Los Angeles 2020 will also feature a new tournament format. There will be a total of 34 participating teams in five online regional leagues. Teams who qualified for ESL One Los Angeles will most likely get a direct invite to the tournament.

ESL One Los Angeles will kick off on March 28 with a prize pool of $375,000.

ESL One LA Major may no longer be a major

Something ESL was vague on was the event’s status as a Dota Pro Circuit event. It is unclear whether Valve has revoked the Major status of ESL One Los Angeles. The company did not specify if the event fits into the plans for The International 2020, or if it is a standalone event now.

“It’s the best, and more importantly, the safest decision for players, coaches, team staff, fans, and our event crews while still keeping the core of esports alive. We are happy that our sport can go on even in the most difficult of times and we hope to bring you some great entertainment during the quarantine period and overall dynamic situation,” ESL told fans in its blog post.

ESL One Birmingham will also be played online from May to June. The tournament boasts a $335,000 prize pool.

ESL advised fans to hold onto their tickets for ESL One Birmingham, as they will still be valid for ESL’s live event in Birmingham next year.

Valve is yet to make an official announcement about its plans about the Dota Pro Circuit as The International 2020 draws near.