The Esports Championship Series, the first CS:GO league to offer players co-ownership and true collaboration in league activities, is returning for Season 3 with the ECS Open Qualifiers. The qualifiers will begin this Saturday, February 18, with the top two teams per qualifier earning a place in the ECS Development League. The ECS Development League will kick off on February 28 with the top two teams from each region earning a chance to battle last season’s relegation teams for their spots in ECS Season 3.

Through the ECS Open Qualifiers, four teams from each region will qualify for the ECS Development League, with another four teams invited by the ECS. The top two teams from both North America and Europe will then battle the relegated teams from the ECS Season 2 in a best-of-five match. The winner of each showdown will earn their place in Season 3 and the chance to compete alongside CS:GO powerhouses Astralis, FaZe, Cloud9 and OpTic Gaming, along with the opportunity to opt-in to a co-ownership stake in the ECS league. This arrangement gives participating teams financial support and benefits, akin to the co-ownership arrangements of professional sports leagues like the NBA.

With the new season of ECS comes the return of the Community Caster Challenge. This season, the ECS will provide another chance for rising stars of esports casting to fly to the ECS studio and cast live matches of ECS Season 3. Casters looking to join the Community Caster Challenge can send the following information to [email protected] for consideration: first and last name, contact email, Skype link, Twitch channel URL, and other social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram).

Matches during the ECS Open Qualifiers bracket rounds will be single elimination, with the quarter-finals and semi-finals being best-of-three matches. The top two teams from each qualifier will advance to the ECS Developmental League.

ECS Open Qualifiers Schedule:

February 18-19 – Qualifier 1
Europe
North America

February 25-26 – Qualifier 2
Europe
North America

ECS Season 3 Developmental League Schedule:

February 28 – March 16 – Opening Rounds
Best-of-two matches with 4 invited and 4 qualifying teams. Top 2 teams progress to ECS Promotional Playoffs.

March 25-26 – ECS Promotion Playoffs
Best-of-five matches between top two ECS Developmental League vs ECS Season 2 relegated teams from each region. Winners qualify for ECS Season 3. (EU: Virtus.Pro, Fnatic – NA: Team SoloMid, compLexity)