ESL One Cologne viewer's guide

14/8/2014 - 06:44

With Valve's third major coming up, we've put together the viewer's guide for the event running from August 14-17 in Cologne, Germany.

ESL One Cologne at Gamescom will gather sixteen of the best teams in the world in the battle for $250,000 after weeks of qualifiers from a number of different regions.

1. $100,000
2. $50,000
3-4. $22,000
5-8. $10,000
9-16. $2,000

We have learned the caster lineup, which features Paul "ReDeYe" Chaloner as the host together with Scott "SirScoots" Smith, joined by the usual trio Anders Blume, Auguste "Semmler" Massonat and Stuart "TosspoT" Saw, as well as Lauren "Pansy" Scott and Richard Lewis.

HLTV.org has conducted interviews with members of all attending teams - though some are not yet posted - about expectations, preparations and more, check below in case you missed some:

Alexey "⁠ub1que⁠" Polivanov: "Let's just wait and see"

Kenny "⁠kennyS⁠" Schrub: "[G3] result still means something"

Chad "⁠SPUNJ⁠" Burchill: "Not just there to fill the numbers"

Richard "⁠shox⁠" Papillon: "I don't fear any team"

Denis "⁠seized⁠" Kostin: "We've been more effective"

Christopher "⁠GeT_RiGhT⁠" Alesund: "Time to win a major"

Kirill "⁠ANGE1⁠" Karasiow: "I like the [new] maps a lot"

Nicolaj "⁠Nico⁠" Jensen: "Our A-game can beat anyone"

Vincent "⁠Happy⁠" Schopenhauer: "Tired of quarter-final exits"

Wiktor "⁠TaZ⁠" Wojtas: "We haven't reached our peak"

Pål "⁠Polly⁠" Kammen: "We are here to stay"

Henrik "⁠FeTiSh⁠" Christensen: "There is no I in team"

Jesper "⁠JW⁠" Wecksell: "We can surprise a lot of teams"

iBUYPOWER: "Too many mistakes"

Spencer "⁠Hiko⁠" Martin: "You are in for a treat"

The format of the tournament hasn't changed from the previous majors, although keep in mind that de_cache, de_overpass and de_cobblestone are in the maplist, while de_train isn't, and the veto system has been altered. Also, knife rounds will not be played, sides will be picked by the team vetoing first.

According to the official schedule, Thursday's matches will be played in the Pro Gaming area, while from Friday on everything will take place on the North Stage.

You can find the full schedule for the four-day event below:

Thursday, August 14th
09:00	NiP	vs. Wolf	A1
09:00	Epsilon	vs. HellRaisers	A2
10:00	A1 loser	vs. A2 loser	A3
12:00	LDLC	vs. London Conspiracy	B1
12:00	Copenhagen Wolves	vs. Natus Vincere	B2
13:00	B1 loser	vs. B2 loser	B3
15:00	Virtus.pro	vs. dAT	C1
15:00	iBUYPOWER	vs. fnatic	C2
16:00	C1 loser	vs. C2 loser	C3
18:00	dignitas	vs. Vox Eminor	D1
18:00	Titan	vs. Cloud9	D2
19:00	D1 loser	vs. D2 loser	D3

Friday, August 15th
09:30	A1 winner	vs. A2 winner	A4
10:50	A3 winner	vs. A4 loser
12:10	B1 winner	vs. B2 winner	B4
13:30	B3 winner	vs. B4 loser
14:50	C1 winner	vs. C2 winner	C4
16:10	C3 winner	vs. C4 loser
17:30	D1 winner	vs. D2 winner	D4
18:50	D3 winner	vs. D4 loser

Saturday, August 16th
09:00	Quarter-final #1
11:50	Quarter-final #2
14:40	Quarter-final #3
17:30	Quarter-final #4

Sunday, August 17th
09:00	Semi-final #1
12:00	Semi-final #2
15:00	Grand final

ESL One Cologne will be streamed on a number of partner streams and obviously ESL TV as the main one. Don't forget that Valve has shipped out an update, which allows you to listen to casters while connected to a GOTV.

HLTV.org will be live on-site, providing you with full coverage of the event taking place at gamescom, including hot matches, stats, galleries, articles and more.

sweeeet

2014-08-12 21:23

2 replies

too many non fear players for a random top

2014-08-12 21:31

kaboom

2014-08-12 23:21

^where is the "pro gaming area"?

HYPE

sick

2014-08-12 21:24

nice.

2014-08-12 21:26

Hype hype

2014-08-12 21:27

gl dAt

2014-08-12 21:29

Can't wait!

04:00 start -.-

2014-08-12 21:30

Am I missing sometthing? Aren't Titan attending? "HLTV.org has conducted interviews with members of all attending teams"

4 replies

Maybe they still didn't publish it, they'll do that tomorrow mb :)

+1. Only 12/16 so far

2014-08-12 21:32

1 reply

Sorry, I forgot our Indian brothers friend, are they doing an interview?

2014-08-12 21:34

twitter.com/lurppis_/status/499275163956.. Guess its a bit written ahead (not a pun to lurppis' typo)

2014-08-12 21:42

I'll wake up until 10:00.. aka CS Global Delay..

5 replies

Everytime I want to watch a tournament I always put my alarm clock one hour later than it should start. It ALWAYS works out. I never miss a full match. =D

That's so perfect, when you hear Anders saying, here we go into the knife round IM LIKE FIIIIINAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY !!!!!! :D

2014-08-12 21:33

No knife rounds this time ....

2014-08-13 16:40

ESL usually make sure there's no delays

2014-08-12 21:38

Of course -_-

2014-08-12 21:57

why are the games played so early ;_;

There are always delays at large tournaments, so they start early so they don't end up playing games at 1 am. And sometimes they end up going that late anyway.

2014-08-12 22:12

this could be the #1 n1, but it isn't

thats so sad, I cry everytime :'(

2014-08-12 21:36

nice

I wish there were more trash talkers in the scene. Those interviews are way too cliché.

what fucking flag is that

2014-08-12 21:37

It's nation code is LK, which is Sri Lanka

2014-08-12 22:59

ESL One Cologne at Gamescom will gather sixteen of the best teams Awww yea . Wolf one of the best team in the world .

In India :D EDIT : Best team in the world is the team that is going to win this major :p

3 replies

But they said one of the best teams :D

2014-08-12 21:35

Some, doesn't mean all of them are.

2014-08-12 22:50

-.-

2014-08-12 23:09

4:00?? Damn, time to pull an all-nighter -_-

not 3:00? :D Anyway... that will be tough for you during 3 days. :D

Nope, 4:00. I WON'T SLEEP AT ALL. Caffeine here I come!!

2014-08-13 00:03

is there dreamteam?

2014-08-12 21:40

Should we really expect the matches to start at 8/9 in the morning, or will probably be delayed by an hour like it usually is?

ESL One -last year in Germany- wasn't delayed iirc.

2014-08-12 22:07

ok, cuz previous majors were delayed

2014-08-12 22:17

Yea. Some people may be sleeping but it isn't that early for me. I mean, the 1st matches are at 10 in the morning

2014-08-12 22:27

n43

2014-08-12 21:43

I like the new schedule much better. Allows you to see a bit of each group on the first two days and prevents teams (except those who lose 2 straight) from going out on the first day. Also having the quarters all one day is nice too.

For those of you looking to bet, I'm from the future, you can thank me on Sunday. NiP > Wolf & HR > Epsilon Epsilon > Wolf LC > LDLC & Na'Vi > CPH Wolves CPH Wolves > LDLC VP > dAT & fnatic > IBP IBP > dAT Dignitas > Vox & Titan > Cloud9 Cloud9 > Vox NiP and HR qualify Group A Na'Vi and CPH Wolves in Group B VP and fnatic Group C Dignitas and Titan Group D

2014-08-12 21:58

LDLC > LC C9 > Titan

2014-08-13 00:13

Same time zone as Katowice yet they start 4 hours earlier making the majority of the tournament realistically unwatchable for anyone in NA. I don't understand why the organizers would willingly lose tens of thousands of viewers to get these time slots.

2014-08-12 21:44

It's not about viewers it's made to suit people at the event, people watching the stream aren't a priority, deal with it.

2014-08-13 02:12

Schedule is fucking disappointing. It's obvious GO is not a top priority for ESL (yet), since they couldn't bother fitting GO in the schedule for the afternoon/night. This schedule obviously doesn't help to increase viewership in EU and NA. I would be surprised if the stream breaks 100k. Also, will there be 2 streams on thursday, since we'll be having 2 matches at the same time ? What would be the 2nd stream, Roomonfire ?

2014-08-12 21:49

10 replies

You do see that they will be playing for 10h right? They cant start 6pm, that's out rageous. Stop being a hataaaaah

2014-08-12 21:51

10hr you say? how about 12pm to 10pm, sounds good for you or is "outrageous" too?

2014-08-12 22:02

Theres things called delays which happen in every tournament and can last from 1-4/5 hours.. You clueless moron

2014-08-13 02:29

Because of the inevitable delays, on your schedule they'll end up playing until 1-2 am.

2014-08-13 08:15

You do know that it's played at gamescom and gamescom closes at 20:00 CEST on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and 18:00 CEST on Sunday.

2014-08-12 22:09

group matches will be played at the ESL studio...

2014-08-12 22:21

then you don't have the fucking event at gamescom.

2014-08-12 22:56

Then Gamescom was a bad choice of venue. They're going to be missing out on several tens of thousands of viewers for the majority of the tournament due to this timeframe. Viewer numbers probably won't suffer hugely compared to Katowice purely due to the fact that there are nearly 1,000,000 more unique monthly players now compared to at the time of Katowice, but they will certainly be drastically lower than what they could be if this was scheduled during proper hours. Just very disappointing times for anyone in NA.

why would they change the schedule to suit stream viewers in North America? First priority is the attending Tyne event, they aren't going to start hours later to suit people who aren't paying

2014-08-13 02:15

hope that the game will begin atleast 9:30 , and no much delays like G3 please.

2014-08-12 21:48

Thursday in the morning. Yeah, why not. Some have to work...

2014-08-12 21:53

dreamteam?

2014-08-12 21:54

Will there be a dreamteam game ????

No dreamteam?

2014-08-12 21:59

is this tournament hosted at the same venue of the LoL event?

2014-08-12 22:01

2014-08-12 22:04

ok thanks

good opportunity to stop waking up at 13h00 XD

2014-08-12 22:03

AWESOME P.S why crying for dreamteam go play esl fantasy team fantasy.eslgaming.com/ -.-

ESL one has no details about valuation and no roles for players, I guess there won't be a unique winner

2014-08-13 11:50

agree with roles there is info about valuation tho but yeah hltv dreamteam better but this not bad as well too no need to cry so much

2014-08-13 16:53

No dreamteam? HLTV is really lacking of competition...

2014-08-12 22:05

CLOUD9

2014-08-12 22:23

time is shit sry to say but i would love to watch games at evening and game finish for example 12 am and start 14 pm

stop bitching noob and wake up early or don't sleep at all :P

2014-08-13 04:01

i was going to watch it with friend with beer but no they have to make it morning... and stfu nigga

2014-08-13 04:03

come at me bro

2014-08-13 04:08

Can I come in you instead? ;)

2014-08-13 12:36

WHY NO DREAMTEAM? YOU GETTIN LAZY?

2014-08-12 22:29

2014-08-12 22:39

2014-08-12 22:43

Dreamteam please!

2014-08-13 00:11

ESL has a dreamteam for this event, maybe a conflict of interest?

2014-08-13 01:37

Will there be POV streams?

2014-08-12 22:44

Pansy said there will be so Yea..

2014-08-13 17:00

no dreamteam gg

2014-08-12 22:53

Wolf FTW

what's with this knife rounds? plz explain!

2014-08-12 23:01

whole event played during night time for me, from 00:00 to 09:00 :D ehh, can you pick any worse? It's not hate, just disappointment.

2014-08-12 23:20

Stil try to watch as we watched ESEA in AM hours, gonna be awsome

2014-08-13 00:10

Grand Final on my birthday :D

2014-08-12 23:27

so hyped

2014-08-12 23:32

ESL map veto system is just as big joke as Valve's developing CS:GO... Both teams are vetoing 2 maps each, and then one of the remaining 3 maps will be chosen randomly. Retarded system, especially when you have overpass and cobblestone and don't have train and season. Idiots (I mean Valve are idiots).

2014-08-12 23:42

woho, start working at every start and finish after every game, thx esl

2014-08-12 23:46

hahahaha lets change everything so you can view, get a real job like progamer

2014-08-13 00:09

no dreamteam #gg #hltv

2014-08-13 00:27

ESL has a dreamteam

Ugh, dat time schedule -_- Will miss at least 75% of the group stage matches, just hope i can drag my ass outta bed at 9 AM on the week end :( Terrible for the viewers in the americas.

2014-08-13 00:40

15:00 Grand final Hope there are no delays as I have to leave at 20.00. :) Cant wait for the tournament, so excited.

2014-08-13 01:51

lame schedule, I have work in the morning on weekdays. I can't stay up late to watch. I'm going to miss all the games Thursday & Friday.

NIP will fall in quater finals if they get lucky, Champion? from Fnatic,dignitas,vp,IBP

2014-08-13 03:46

grand final same time as leaugeofledgends..... gg x

2014-08-13 04:57

This is the best possible schedule of the tournament for me. All games start post lunch and end around my sleep time at night :D Now, if only ESL can manage to run the event on schedule (which is rare and unlikely these days).

2014-08-13 05:43

Haha times like this gotta love being Singaporean

2014-08-14 08:51

The ONLY time, I would say ;)

2014-08-14 09:32

This is quite frustrating how they do the loser's match straight after the 2nd match. It means I won't be able to put my sticker on the team I want, unless I'm actually at home at my computer at the little gap between the 2nd pool match and the loser's match... No gold trophy for me

2014-08-13 06:01

You won't be able to put your sticker on those matches anyways, the only matches you can bet on thursday are the ones you can bet on right now

2014-08-13 12:11

Ah yeah just noticed that. It should be good enough for me to put the stickers on a the beginning of the day for each day

2014-08-14 07:03

Wolf > mouz because they made it to ESL

2014-08-13 06:29

Lol

2014-08-13 06:46

Groups at this event are fuckin' sick BO1 random shit

2014-08-13 07:10

2014-08-13 12:38

I want to win at least 63 € on CSGOLounge. I want to buy some bayonet. I hope I will win and will not lose my skins. :D :D

2014-08-13 08:34

Stuck @ work first 2 days :( :( lucky for me my boss aint around so laptop stream = real! :D

2014-08-13 10:33

hype!

2014-08-13 10:45

gamescom, here we go. See you on sunday =)

2014-08-13 10:55

n11111

2014-08-13 11:18

2014-08-13 11:26

2014-08-13 12:00

Perfect timing for us 12:30 PM to 22:00 PM.

2014-08-13 15:10

no dreamteam, no fucks given

2014-08-13 15:12

fantasy.eslgaming.com/

2014-08-13 22:14

no prizes as far as i know

2014-08-14 04:07

So GOTV is now available again for every match? No fear on DDOS? I hope the main reason is, they already have a solution on those fcking DDOS!

2014-08-14 06:54

VOX VOX VOX

2014-08-14 06:56

The schedule sucks. Gonna miss every game in the first two days besides prolly the last one. I was hoping to catch at least half of the games night time... And then you have 9AM starts in Saturday & Sunday - what the actual fuck? This is awful.

2014-08-14 07:01

Games start at 5pm for me so im set to have a few beers after work and chill out to some solid cs

2014-08-14 07:14

yeah, same here! gonna be good. just move to aus so stream times works really well! :D go vox

2014-08-14 07:32