The group stages have ended in all three regional divisions of ESL Challenger League Season 40. In each of them (these are Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific region), the eight best teams that will advance to the playoffs have been determined. This stage will begin simultaneously in all regions and end on April 3. The winner of the playoffs in each region will receive a place in the ESL Pro League Season 16 Conference.
In the European part of the tournament, the group stage was held in the GSL format. Two Russian teams (Entropiq and 1WIN), who performed successfully last season, were able to get into the playoffs. Entropiq will face Portugal's SAW in their first match, while 1WIN will play against Finland's Finest. Among other playoff participants – French Falcons and HEET, Danish ECSTATIC and Polish Wisla Krakow.
In North America, the group stage was held in the round-robin format. Four of the eight teams that made the playoffs also participated in the playoffs last season. These include the Brazilian paiN and the American Party Astronauts and Gaimin Gladiators. In addition, the Brazilian MIBR was able to advance to the next stage.
In the eastern stage, teams from China, Mongolia and the Philippines advanced to the playoffs. The most famous of them is TYLOO, ranked 75th in the world ranking.
