ESL Pro League Conference Season 16 begins

Season 16 of the ESL Pro League Conference gets underway on June 16. 16 teams will battle it for six places in the ESL Pro League proper.

Taking place in Jönköping, Sweden, the teams present at the Pro League Conference come from every corner of the globe and the lineup features both regional favorites and household names.

The tournament will return a double-elimination bracket to decide the six teams that progress to the Pro League Season 16 in August.

Who is in the ESL Pro League Conference?

There are 16 teams who will compete in Season 16 of the ESL Pro League Conference:

• Outsiders (formerly known as Virtus.pro)
• Sprout
• Encore ESC
• HEET
• MIBR
• Strife Esports
• ORDER
• VERTEX Esports Club
• Endpoint
• cowana Gaming
• Illuminar Gaming
• For the Win Esports
• Falcons Esports
• Eternal Fire
• TYLOO

Return of Kjaerbye

One player that many fans will be excited to see in action at the Pro League Conference will be Danish CS:GO legend Markus “Kjaerbye” Kjærbye. Kjaerbye recently signed with Endpoint after initially retiring from professional play in June 2021. The Pro League Conference will the star’s first major tournament since his return.

Endpoint begin their tournament against French team HEET, who qualified by winning the European ESL Challenger League Season 40 in April.

 

Can MIBR turn things around?

2022 has not been the best year for Brazilian powerhouse MIBR. Despite qualifying for major events, they have failed to live up to expectations once they get there. This includes a 21st to 24th finish at IEM Katowice, a 17th to 19th finish at the PGL Major Antwerp, and a 9th to 12th finish at IEM Dallas.

The run of poor form led the team to promote academy prospect Breno “brzn4n” Poletto over roster mainstay Adriano “WOOD7” Cerato. However, the team’s first outing with brzn4n was less than ideal, as they lost in the quarterfinals of the Pinnacle Cup Championship.

Will MIBR be able to regain their footing in Sweden? That task begins against cowana Gaming, who announce a brand-new lineup on June 13.

ORDER roster debut

One of the new rosters that will debut at the Pro League Conference is that of Australian org ORDER. The team overhauled their squad on June 4 with the acquisition of Renegades’ roster. The move was hailed as a major power shift in the Oceania region. However, the team has yet to compete in a major tournament. And so they will have to prove themselves for the first time in Sweden.

ORDER begin their campaign against fellow Australian org Encore ESC.

ESL Pro League Conference: What you need to know

The ESL Pro League Conference begins on June 16 and continues until June 20. Each team plays an opening match, with the losers falling to the lower bracket and the winners progressing to the upper bracket. Four teams will qualify for the ESL Pro League from the upper bracket in matches played on June 18. The remaining teams will fight for two places in the Pro League available in the lower bracket.

Header: Erasmus, ESL