ESL Pro League Season 24 Seeding Revealed: Spirit Top, TYLOO Carry Asia's Hopes
Spirit are top seeds for ESL Pro League Season 24 in Katowice, with Vitality second and China's TYLOO 14th for the US$1 million event from 3 October.
The bracket is set for the next big stop on the Counter-Strike 2 calendar. ESL revealed the seeding for ESL Pro League Season 24 on 25 September, with Team Spirit as top seed. Vitality, coming off a strong run in September, are second.
Event at a glance
- Dates: 3-11 October 2026 (group stage 3-7 October, playoffs 9-11 October)
- Venue: Spodek Arena, Katowice, Poland
- Prize pool: US$1,000,000 (US$700,000 club share, US$300,000 player share, per HLTV)
- Teams: 16, all playing in person on LAN
According to ESL, 12 teams are invited based on the Valve Regional Standings (VRS). The last four slots go to regional representatives, one each from Europe, North America, South America and Asia.
How seeding worked
This time ESL used peer-based seeding. HLTV reported that all 16 teams ranked their opponents, and after outliers were removed, the averages set the final order. Some teams moved compared with their VRS positions:
- Spirit
- Vitality (+2)
- Falcons
- MOUZ (-2)
- Legacy
- FURIA
- Aurora (+3)
- G2 (-1)
- Natus Vincere
- 9z (-2)
- BETBOOM
- PARIVISION
- M80 (+2)
- TYLOO (-1)
- 1win (-1)
- ShindeN
Vitality and Aurora gained the most from the peer rankings, which HLTV linked to their StarSeries Fall results. MOUZ and 9z both dropped two places.
Opening round matchups
The top seed faces the bottom seed in round one:
- Spirit vs ShindeN
- Vitality vs 1win
- Falcons vs TYLOO
- MOUZ vs M80
- Legacy vs PARIVISION
- FURIA vs BETBOOM
- Aurora vs 9z
- G2 vs Natus Vincere
The group stage is a Swiss system with best-of-three matches. The playoffs are single elimination, also best-of-three, apart from a best-of-five grand final and a best-of-three third-place match.
TYLOO flies the flag for Asia
For fans in Malaysia and the rest of Asia, TYLOO are the team to watch. The Chinese side are the only Asian team in the field, and their opener against third seed Falcons is a tough start. TYLOO lost 2-0 to G2 at Valorant Champions this week, but that was the organisation's Valorant roster. The Counter-Strike team will want to put in a strong showing on one of CS2's most famous stages.
Among the notable absentees, HLTV pointed out that FaZe Clan are not in the field.
Broadcast team confirmed
ESL also named a ten-person talent line-up on 25 September, per HLTV. It includes Freya Spiers, Janko "YNk" Paunovic, Chad "SPUNJ" Burchill, Alex "Machine" Richardson, Harry "JustHarry" Russell, Hugo Byron, Adam "Dinko" Hawthorne, Jason "moses" O'Toole, Henry "HenryG" Greer and Tres "stunna" Saranthus.
The event also counts as a Tier 1 wildcard tournament in ESL's calendar and feeds into its Annual Club Incentive programme.
Key takeaways
- ESL Pro League Season 24 runs from 3 to 11 October at the Spodek Arena in Katowice.
- Spirit are first seed, followed by Vitality, Falcons, MOUZ and Legacy.
- China's TYLOO are 14th seed and open against Falcons.
- The prize pool is US$1 million, and the grand final is best-of-five.
FAQ
When does ESL Pro League Season 24 start? The group stage begins on 3 October, and the playoffs run from 9 to 11 October in Katowice.
How were the teams seeded? The 16 teams ranked each other. After outliers were removed, the average rankings set the final seeds.
Are there any Asian teams at ESL Pro League Season 24? Yes. TYLOO from China are the 14th seed.
Sources: HLTV, ESL Pro Tour