ECSTATIC and paiN Gaming have been placed in the same group for ESL Challenger Katowice 2023, as announced on the official ESL Twitter account today.

Here's how the groups look and which teams are in them:

GROUP A

• ENCE
• Virtus.pro
• Party Astronauts
• Bravado Gaming

GROUP B

• paiN Gaming
• FORZE Esports
• ECSTATIC
• 9z Team

How were the teams selected to participate in the championship?

A total of 8 teams are participating in the championship, some of which were invited based on the world rankings, while others went through independent qualifications.

Teams such as Virtus.pro, ENCE, FORZE Esports, and paiN Gaming were invited based on their respective positions in the global rankings.

ECSTATIC, on the other hand, qualified through the European qualifiers. Party Astronauts earned their spot through the North American open qualifiers, and 9z Team made it through the South American qualifiers.

Meanwhile, Bravado Gaming represents the African region and qualified through the open African qualifiers. All players on the team are from South Africa.

Brief information about the ESL Challenger Katowice 2023

ESL Challenger Katowice 2023 is set to take place from June 9th to June 11th, 2023. The tournament features a prize pool of $100,000 and offers 1975 BLAST Premier points. In addition, the winner will receive a direct invitation to ESL Pro League S18. The championship will be held in the LAN format in Katowice, the esports hub of Poland.

Prize Pool Distribution:

1st place - $50,000

2nd place - $20,000

3rd place - $10,000

4th place - $10,000

5th-6th place - $3,000

7th-8th place - $2,000