For 25 years in the esports industry, the world’s largest tournament operator, ESL, has organized over a hundred top competitions in Counter-Strike, Dota 2, and other disciplines. The Intel Extreme Masters and ESL Pro League tournaments are considered the top CS2 competition, so they traditionally gather the world’s leading teams.
During these tournaments, players compete not only for prestige, trophies, and prize money but also for a separate $1,000,000 Intel Grand Slam award. This hefty cash prize is awarded to the team that first wins four titles for 10 consecutive ESL tournaments.
The reputation of ESL allows players who receive the Intel Grand Slam to be confident in the cash prize payout. The betting company 1xBet has been successfully cooperating with ESL for many years, which is why its clients should not worry about the 1xBet withdrawal problem either.
At the moment, Natus Vincere and Team Vitality lead the overall Intel Grand Slam 5 standings, having won two tournaments each in the series. A victory for either of these teams in ESL Pro League Season 21 will place them in the lead, with only one title left to get the coveted $1,000,000.
ESL Pro League Season 21
The ESL Pro League Season 21 tournament will be held at ESL Studio in Stockholm from March 1 to March 16, 2025. The prize pool is $400,000, and the winner will receive $100,000. The famous international brand 1xBet is one of the sponsors of this tournament, so there is no point in wondering: is 1xBet legit?
In the first stage, 16 teams will struggle for eight tickets to the second stage in Bo3 format under Swiss System rules. Four teams from this group qualified for the tournament thanks to their high positions in the VRS Global rankings – FURIA, 3DMAX, Eternal Fire, and GamerLegion. Another 12 squads became participants through winning prize positions in the two offline ESL Challenger tournaments in Atlanta and Katowice, as well as the regional online ESL Challenger League Season 48. This group includes FlyQuest, SAW, HEROIC, Nemiga Gaming, M80, NRG, TYLOO, Lynn Vision, paiN Gaming, MIBR, Mindfreak, and Housebets.
The top eight CS2 teams in the world will begin their path to victory in ESL Pro League Season 21 with the second stage, namely:
- G2 Esports
- Team Spirit
- The MongolZ
- Team Vitality
- MOUZ
- Natus Vincere
- Team Falcons
- Team Liquid
The second stage of the tournament will follow the same pattern as the first stage (Swiss System, Bo3), with the top eight teams qualifying for the playoffs.
In the final part, teams will no longer have the right to make mistakes – every loss will result in immediate elimination. In the quarterfinals and semifinals, the rivals will play to two victories on the maps and in the grand finals – to three.
1xBet prediction for the ESL Pro League Season 21
For the top teams, the ESL Pro League Season 21 tournament starts one month after the IEM Katowice 2025 finals. Almost all the favorites will miss PGL Cluj-Napoca 2025 in mid-February, so the real contenders for the cup will have more than enough time to rest and prepare.
The top 8 teams mentioned above are the first to hope for victory in ESL Pro League Season 21. However, judging by their recent tournament results, MOUZ, Team Falcons, and Team Liquid are unlikely to achieve the desired result.
The esports experts from 1xBet believe that the following five teams have the most chances of victory:
- Team Vitality
- Team Spirit
- Natus Vincere
- G2 Esports
- The MongolZ
The first three teams are the best in the world at the moment. Vitality is clearly looking to extend its winning streak after IEM Katowice 2025, while Spirit is eager to prove that its victories in the PWE Shanghai Major 2024 and the recent BLAST Bounty Spring 2025 were no coincidence. NAVI can win all tournaments, especially if it doesn’t enter as favorites. G2 Esports has been falling behind more often than winning lately, and The MongolZ still lacks experience. Still, even these two teams, with the right circumstances, could become ESL Pro League Season 21 champions.
Watch the ESL Pro League Season 21 esports tournament, bet on your favorite teams’ victories, and win with 1xBet!
