Those who tune in and view the fifth season of the ECS, otherwise known as the Esports Championship Series, will be gifted with loot drops and FACEIT points throughout the season. The ECS is a non-publisher funded Counter-Strike: Global Offensive that is streamed exclusively on YouTube.
Fifteen millions FACEIT points will be distributed to viewers over the course of the season, which can in turn be redeemed for prizes such as Dragon Lore AWPs, gaming chairs, PCs, skins, and even a customized Fiat 500.
The incentives for the league will be available for those who watch on YouTube from March 20th to May 10th, and is part of the exclusive broadcast between the video platform and FACEIT. 20 CS:GO teams will take part in the league, including Astralis, Virtus.pro, FaZe Clan, Fnatic, Cloud9, and Team Liquid, among others.
Eight teams will advance to the live final, which runs from 8th-10th June. There’s a total prize pool of $660,000 (£469,986) up for grabs, with first place receiving $250,000 (£178,072), second place winning $120,000 (£85,474.80), and third & fourth place being awarded $65,000 (£46,298.85) each. The live finals start with two double-elimination group stages. From there, it’ll lead to playoffs with a single elimination bracket where each game is a best-of-three series.
Esports Insider says: We’re seeing viewing incentives more and more as time goes by, so it’s not too much of a shock that another league has decided to adopt the strategy. Plus, the prizes are pretty damn good so it’s sure to encourage CS:GO players to engage with the highest level of competition available on the game.