Tournament organizer ESL has updated the competition schedule for 2021, adjusting the format and dates of some events taking into account the current epidemiological situation. The first tournament in the traditional LAN format should be ESL One Cologne, which will take place in June. It will take place in the studio, and viewers will only be able to watch what is happening via broadcast.
The next two competitions, DreamHack Masters Spring and IEM Summer, will again be held online, because, as the organizers note, “the safety of the teams, staff and the entire community is of paramount importance to us.” Initially, it was planned to hold both tournaments in the studio with the teams in person, but these plans were subsequently changed.
ESL representatives mention that the status of ESL One Cologne is also not final and may change in the future if new anti-epidemic restrictions appear. They also mentioned that plans to hold live LAN tournaments have been postponed until at least November. ESL is now exploring all available options to return to its usual formats in late autumn. In the future, changes in the conditions of upcoming competitions will be announced at least every quarter so that the community has time to adapt to possible changes.
