ESL One in Cologne is back. This year the tournament will be played in one of Germanys biggest indoor stadium and the 250 000 dollar large prize pool will be provided by ESL themselves, currently without the help from Valve.

– Interesting to see that ESL are continuing to push without valve’s support, Auguste ”Semmler” Massonnat says to Aftonbladet Esport.

The news about ESL One coming back to Cologne leaked on Thursday. The tournament organizer will be moving the tournament to one of Germanys biggest indoor stadiums, the Lanxess Arena with 15 000 seats, and guarantee the prize pool from their own pocket. A good move according to RoomOnFire profile Auguste ”Semmler” Massonnat.

– That certainly makes a difference, they probably wanted to do multiple events with that prize money, but considering how crowded the calendar is looking, and also that they should be able to pick up another major this year, they chose to go with the high impact approach, he tells Aftonbladet Esport and continues:

– What’s good about this development is that this gives more opportunity for teams to earn money to support themselves outside of the majors.

”Excellent for mid-tier teams”

Teams from all over the world will have the chance to qualify for the event. To Aftonbladet Esport Ulrich Schulze, managing director of pro gaming at ESL, confirmed that they will be hosting a offline qualifier.

– All of this matchfixing issue comes from the mid-tier teams not making enough to fully support themselves, Semmler explains.

– More high cash tourneys will be excellent for the mid-tier teams to bolster their revenue and their salaries. It should also mean that the teams will be able to get more support from their sponsors, which should also go in to support for the players. ESEA, Faceit, ESL all pushing the prize money up along with the Valve majors is going to lead to a great environment for the pros, so long as schedules remain reasonable. We don’t want the CSGO scene to turn into DOTA2, and it’s showing every indication of doing so.

”Betting as a motivator for tuning in”

Are you scared of oversaturation?

– Oversaturation isn’t a problem. It just means that the teams are going to have the option to pick and chose where they want to play. So long as the teams are properly managed and advised, more tourneys shouldn’t be a bad thing.

You don’t think it might become a problem for the viewers?

– That can be a concern, yes. But then, there’s the betting to consider as a motivator for tuning in. If it was just about the game, I would be worried. Betting might give a buffer for that, to be outright cynical about it. So long as the online portion doesn’t get out of control and start demanding more and more time from the players, we should be alright.