Natus Vincere have accepted an invitation to compete at ESL One Cologne 2019, the event's organisers have revealed.

The Ukrainian giants will return to Cologne as defending champions after winning last year's event by beating local heroes BIG 3-1 in the best-of-five grand final.

Natus Vincere, who are currently ranked third in the world, will take the first invite slot, with 11 teams left to reveal by ESL. The remaining four sides will come from regional online qualifiers, held in Europe, North America and Asia.

Na`Vi confirmed at ESL One Cologne 2019

ESL One Cologne will kick off on July 2 and will culminate with the playoffs at the LANXESS Arena, from July 5-7, with the winning side taking home the bulk of the tournament's $300,000 prize pool.