DreamHack and ESL sign revenue-share deal with esports teams
A monumental moment in the esports history happened earlier this Tuesday, when 13 leading esports teams reached an agreement with Modern Times Group companies DreamHack and ESL to participate in their CS:GO competitions, as a part of a deal which will grant them revenue share generated from ESL Pro Tour events.
The ground-breaking agreement between the teams and Modern Times Group is dubbed as The Louvre Agreement and will include Astralis, FaZe Clan, Fnatic, Complexity, Evil Geniuses, ENCE, G2 Esports, Team Liquid, Team Vitality, Mousesports, Natus Vincere, Ninjas in Pyjamas, and 100 Thieves. The 13 partnered teams have won 28 ESL and DreamHack Masters competitions and two Intel Grand Slams between them over last four years, with Team Liquid and Astralis as the only IGS champions to date.
The announcement on ESL official website read:
"Louvre Agreement creates new framework for CS:GO ecosystem with long-term league slots for teams and revenue and profit-sharing which extends to other ESL Pro Tour competitions."
The 13 teams will not only share revenue and profits from ESL's Pro Tour competitions but also become majority stakeholders in the league, with a long-term slot for participation. With this agreement, ESL Pro Tour further solidified itself as one of the most valuable properties of the global esports business.
Louvre Agreement will regulate the way teams will be able to influence the competition while ensuring the partnered teams they cannot get relegated from the league. Partnered teams which are ranked top 20 in the global rankings are also eligible to select slots in ESL Pro Tour events in a draft pick.
With that the ESL Pro League will continue to build its legacy as the leading Counter-Strike: Global Offensive competition, which is contested by CS:GO esports teams from all over the world. Its 11th season is slated to begin on March 16, 2020, and will comprise of 24 teams as it will move from multi-regional format to a global structure.
The lineup for ESL Pro League Season 11 will include:
Invited (partnered) teams: Astralis, Complexity, ENCE; Evil Genuises, FaZe Clan, Fnatic, G2 Esports, mousesports, Natus Vincere, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Team Liquid, Team Vitality, and 100 Thieves.
Season 10 Finalists: TYLOO, Sharks Esports, north, Heroic, Renegades
ESEA Premier Season 32 champions: forZe, BOOM Esports
ESL World Rankings: FURIA (10th), GODSENT (21th), OG (24th) and Virtus.pro (18th).
"We are pleased to see this agreement which further establishes the ESL Pro Tour as the leading esports circuit format globally. This serves as yet another example of ESL’s and DreamHack’s shared ambition to build and commercially professionalise the global business of esports," said Modern Times Group President and Chief Executive Jørgen Madsen Lindemann.
Last month, ESL and DreamHack also signed a three-year agreement with Blizzard Entertainment. The deal will result in the creation of new ESL Pro Tour events for Warcraft III: Reforged and StarCraft II. It was reported that Blizzard will provide over US $1.8 million in prize pools and over $200,000 for the first season alone.
