Elisa Invitational Spring 2023 starts in March – Open Qualifier Signups are open NOW!
Enjoy the Spring with the new season of Elisa Invitational!
Elisa Invitational Spring 2023 will be played from the 20th of March to the 10th of June 2023. Open qualifiers will be played on the 4th of March, where 4 teams will get their spot for the Contenders Stage where they will meet 12 invited teams. Play in the Open Qualifiers to secure your spot in the $25,000 prize pool Spring 2023 season! Invited teams will be announced closer to the event.
The winner of Elisa Invitational Spring 2023 will be also awarded with a spot in a Closed Qualifier of an unannounced LAN event!
- Format
- Stage 1 – Qualifiers
- Played on 4th of March
- The top 2 from each Qualifier secure a spot in Stage 2, Contenders Stage
- Signups are open now!
- Stage 2 – Contenders
- March 20th – April 20th
- Every week from Monday to Thursday
- Swiss Group (Round 1-2 Best-of-1, Round 3-5 Best-of-3) with 12 invite teams and 4 teams from the Open Qualifiers
- The top 8 teams will advance to the Stage 3, Main Swiss
- Stage 3 – Main Swiss
- April 24th – June 1st
- Every week from Monday to Thursday
- Swiss Group (Best-of-3) with 8 invite teams and 8 teams from the Contenders
- The top 8 teams will secure spots in Stage 4, the Playoffs
- Stage 4 – Playoffs
- June 6th – June 10th
- Single-Elimination Bracket with 4 rounds of play: Opening Matches, Quarter Finals, Semi Finals, and Grand Final
- 12 teams in total; 8 teams in the Opening Matches from Main Swiss, 4 teams invited straight to the Quarter Finals
- Stage 1 – Qualifiers
Markus “Olodyn” Koskivirta has been a part of the Finnish Esports scene for the last 12 years and has worked or volunteered in almost every Finnish esports event. For the last 5 years, Markus has worked internationally as a tournament organizer.
Now Markus joins the Elisa Esports team as Head of Tournament Operations. The main focus of his work is to make sure our tournaments run smoothly and that competitive integrity is guaranteed.
– I am looking forward to being a part of this team. Elisa Esports has the best Finnish esports professionals, and I know we are going to make great things together, comments Markus Koskivirta, Head of Tournament Operations at Elisa Esports.
– I am thrilled to have such a professional on our team, who has a lot of experience in the international esports field. I believe that with Markus, our tournament operations will get to the next level, and we will be able to provide even better tournaments, comments Teemu Koski, Head of Elisa Esports.
Elisa Invitational Winter 2023 moves to the second phase on next Monday. Find the schedule and teams here!
Main Swiss starts next Monday, on the 6th of February, as 8 teams have made their way through the Contenders Stage. Now they’ll meet 8 invited teams, and from the next 5 weeks, only the Top 8 will advance to the last phase of the Elisa Invitational Winter 2023 tournament – the Playoffs!
TEAMS
- HAVU (Invited from Elisa Open Suomi Season 3)
- 500 (Invited)
- 9INE (Invited)
- Tricked (Invited)
- Endpoint CeX (Invited)
- Apeks (Invited)
- Copenhagen Flames (Invited)
- Illuminar (Invited)
- IKLA (Qualified from Contenders Stage)
- Monte (Qualified from Contenders Stage)
- Partizan (Qualified from Contenders Stage)
- GODSENT (Qualified from Contenders Stage)
- Young Ninjas (Qualified from Contenders Stage)
- BIG Academy (Qualified from Contenders Stage)
- ECLOT (Qualified from Contenders Stage)
- EYEBALLERS (Qualified from Contenders Stage)
SCHEDULE
The schedule will be updated weekly as the tournament proceeds forward.
Round 1 – 6.-9.2.2023 (BO3)
| Opening Round 6.2.2023 11.00 CET | 500 vs. EYEBALLERS |
| Opening Round 6.2.2023 14.00 CET | HAVU vs. Young Ninjas |
| Opening Round 7.2.2023 11.00 CET | Tricked vs. Monte |
| Opening Round 7.2.2023 14.00 CET | 9INE vs. Partizan |
| Opening Round 8.2.2023 11.00 CET | Apeks vs. GODSENT |
| Opening Round 8.2.2023 14.00 CET | Illuminar vs. IKLA |
| Opening Round 9.2.2023 11.00 CET | Copenhagen Flames vs. ECLOT |
| Opening Round 9.2.2023 14.00 CET | Endpoint CeX vs. BIG Academy |
Round 2 -13.-16.2.2023 (BO3)
| Low Match 13.2.2023 11.00 CET | CPH Flames vs. Endpoint CeX (Match Forfeited 2-0) |
| Low Match 13.2.2023 14.00 CET | Young Ninjas vs. Apeks |
| Low Match 14.2.2023 11.00 CET | Illuminar vs. Tricked (Match Forfeited 2-0) |
| Low Match 14.2.2023 14.00 CET | BIG Academy vs. ECLOT |
| High Match 15.2.2023 12.00 CET | 9INE vs. EYEBALLERS |
| High Match 15.2.2023 15.00 CET | GODSENT vs. HAVU (Match Forfeited 0-2) |
| High Match 16.2.2023 11.00 CET | 500 vs. Partizan (Match Forfeited 0-2) |
| High Match 16.2.2023 13.00 CET | Monte vs. IKLA |
Round 3 – 20.-23.2.2023 (BO3)
| Low Match 20.2.2023 11.00 CET | Apeks vs. ECLOT |
| Low Match 20.2.2023 14.00 CET | 500 vs. Tricked |
| Mid Match 21.2.2023 11.00 CET | Partizan vs. IKLA |
| Mid Match 21.2.2023 14.00 CET | Illuminar vs. GODSENT |
| Mid Match 22.2.2023 11.00 CET | 9INE vs. Endpoint CeX |
| Mid Match 22.2.2023 14.00 CET | Young Ninjas vs. BIG Academy |
| High Match 23.2.2023 11.00 CET | CPH Flames vs. EYEBALLERS |
| High Match 23.2.2023 14.00 CET | HAVU vs. Monte |
Round 4 – 27.2.-1.3.2023 (BO3)
| Elimination Match 27.2.2023 11.00 CET | ECLOT vs. Tricked |
| Elimination Match 27.2.2023 14.00 CET | IKLA vs. Endpoint CeX |
| Elimination Match 28.2.2023 11.00 CET | BIG Academy vs. GODSENT |
| High Match 28.2.2023 14.00 CET | EYEBALLERS vs. Monte |
| High Match 1.3.2023 11.00 CET | Young Ninjas vs. Partizan |
| High Match 1.3.2023 14.00 CET | 9INE vs. Illuminar |
Round 5 – 2.3.2023 (BO3)
| Elimination Match 2.3.2023 11.00 CET | EYEBALLERS vs. BIG Academy |
| Elimination Match 2.3.2023 14.00 CET | Young Ninjas vs. Tricked |
| Elimination Match 2.3.2023 17.00 CET | Illuminar vs. Endpoint CeX |
Elisa Invitational Contenders Stage starts next Monday, January 16th with 12 invite teams and 4 teams from the Open Qualifiers. From these 16 teams only the top 8 will earn their place in the Main Stage.
All the games will be streamed on our Elisa Esports – Twitch channel. For the first two weeks of the Contenders Stage, Jack “Zerpherr” Kelly and Teodor “Tedd” Borisov will be casting the games!
TEAMS
- ENCE Academy (From Elisa Open Suomi 3)
- PGE Turow (From Europe Online Qualifier)
- GTZ (From Europe Online Qualifier)
- Enhanced (From Nordic Online Qualifier)
- GODSENT (From Nordic Online Qualifier)
- Monte (Invited)
- IKLA (Invited)
- PROSPECTS (Invited)
- ECLOT (Invited)
- Young Ninjas (Invited)
- BIG Academy (Invited)
- Falcons (Invited)
- EYEBALLERS (Invited)
- Partizan (Invited)
- ECSTATIC (Invited)
- Astralis Talent (Invited)
Schedule
The schedule will be updated weekly as the tournament proceeds forward.
Round 1 – 16.-17.1.2023 (BO1)
| Opening Round 16.1.2023 11.00 CET | PROSPECTS vs. ENCE Academy |
| Opening Round 16.1.2023 12.30 CET | IKLA vs. PGE Turow |
| Opening Round 16.1.2023 14.00 CET | BIG Omen Academy vs. GTZ |
| Opening Round 16.1.2023 15.30 CET | Monte vs. Enhanced |
| Opening Round 17.1.2023 11.00 CET | Falcons vs. Partizan |
| Opening Round 17.1.2023 12.30 CET | EYEBALLERS vs. ECSTATIC |
| Opening Round 17.1.2023 14.00 CET | ECLOT vs. GODSENT |
| Opening Round 17.1.2023 15.30 CET | Young Ninjas vs. Astralis Talent |
Round 2 – 18.-19.1.2023 (BO1)
| Low Match 18.1.2023 11.00 CET | Enhanced vs. GTZ |
| Low Match 18.1.2023 12.30 CET | PGE Turow vs. Falcons |
| Low Match 18.1.2023 14.00 CET | ENCE Academy vs. ECSTATIC |
| Low Match 18.1.2023 15.30 CET | GODSENT vs. Astralis Talent |
| High Match 19.1.2023 11.00 CET | EYEBALLERS vs. PROSPECTS |
| High Match 19.1.2023 12.30 CET | Partizan vs. IKLA |
| High Match 19.1.2023 14.00 CET | BIG Omen Azademy vs. Monte |
| High Match 19.1.2023 15.30 CET | Young Ninjas vs. ECLOT |
Round 3 – 23.-26.1.2023 (BO3)
| Elimination Match 23.1.2023 11.00 CET | Enhanced vs. Astralis Talent |
| Elimination Match 23.1.2023 14.00 CET | ENCE Academy vs. PGE Turow |
| Mid Match 24.1.2023 11.00 CET | BIG Omen Academy vs. ECSTATIC |
| Mid Match 24.1.2023 14.00 CET | ECLOT vs. Partizan |
| Mid Match 25.1.2023 11.00 CET | PROSPECTS vs. Falcons |
| Mid Match 24.1.2023 14.00 CET | GODSENT vs. GTZ |
| High Match 26.1.2023 11.00 CET | Young Ninjas vs. IKLA |
| High Match 26.1.2023 14.00 CET | EYEBALLERS vs. Monte |
Round 4 – 30.1.-1.2.2023 (BO3)
| Elimination Match 30.1.2023 11.00 CET | Astralis Talent vs. GTZ |
| Elimination Match 30.1.2023 14.00 CET | BIG Omen Academy vs. PGE Turow |
| Elimination Match 31.1.2023 11.00 CET | ECLOT vs. Prospects |
| High Match 31.1.2023 14.00 CET | GODSENT vs. ECSTATIC |
| High Match 1.2.2023 11.00 CET | EYEBALLERS vs. Partizan |
| High Match 1.2.2023 14.00 CET | Falcons vs. Young Ninjas |
Round 5 – 2.2.2023 (BO3)
| Elimination Match 2.2.2023 14.00 CET | ECLOT vs. ECSTATIC |
| Elimination Match 2.2.2023 17.00 CET | EYEBALLERS vs. GTZ |
This year, Elisa Esports have brought both Finnish and international CS:GO content for fans all over the world. In our broadcasts, we have witnessed competitive gaming as its best: Tight situations, great wins and heartbreaking losses. It all climaxed in November when together with amazing partners we hosted the Elisa Masters Espoo ‘22 tournament.
Our international Twitch channel ElisaEsports had 104 broadcast days and fans spent 215 100 000 minutes watching our content. During those broadcasts you sent over 500 000 chat messages! In our tournaments we had players participating from over 30 different countries.
Our Finnish broadcast team had over 180 broadcast days during 2022, and during those days everyone had chance to follow, for example, Elisa Open by Kotipizza seasons and RMR and Major -tournament. People spent over 87 000 000 minutes watching our Finnish streams on ElisaViihdeSport Twitch-channel and sent over 429 000 chat messages.
In November we had 12 A-tier teams in Finland during the Elisa Masters Espoo ‘22. In Espoo Metro Arena over 9000 CS:GO fans cheered for their favorite teams. The weekend in the Arena was full of priceless moments, on and off-stage.
Elisa Esports thanks fans, teams, partners and everyone who has been part of our journey this year. We already have big plans for the next year – Elisa Invitational and Elisa Open Suomi have already been announced, stay tuned for more!
Elisa Invitational CS:GO tournament series is back with the Winter edition! Elisa Invitational Winter 2023 will be played between qualified teams and some of the most prestigious invite teams in the world. The tournament starts on the 16th of January.
The next Elisa Invitational season will be played from the 16th of January to the 11th of March. Opening qualifiers will be played on the 10th of January, where 4 teams among 12 invites will get their spot in the Contenders stage. The invited teams will be announced closer to the event. Teams will compete for a total Prize Pool of $25,000 and a spot to an unannounced LAN event.
- Format
- Stage 1 – Qualifiers
- Stage 2 – Contenders
- January 16th – February 2nd
- Every week from Monday to Thursday
- Swiss Group (Round 1 and 2 BO1, rest of BO3) with 12 invite teams and 4 teams from the Open Qualifiers.
- The top 8 teams will advance to Stage 3, Main Swiss
- Stage 3 – Main Swiss
- February 6th – March 2nd
- Every week from Monday to Thursday
- Swiss Group (Best-of-3) with 8 invite teams and 8 teams from the Contenders
- The top 8 teams will secure spots in Stage 4, the Playoffs
- Stage 4 – Playoffs
- March 7th – March 11th
- Single-Elimination Bracket with 4 rounds of play: Opening Matches, Quarter Finals, Semi Finals, and Grand Finals
- 12 teams in total; 8 teams in the Opening Matches from Main Swiss, 4 teams invited straight to the Quarter Finals
- Prize pool
- 1st: $12,500 + spot to an unannounced LAN event
- 2nd: $3,500
- 3-4th: $1,500
- 5-8th: $1,000
- 9-12th: $500
- You can find more information about the tournament, as well as current esports news at elisaesports.com
- For the latest news regarding everything Elisa Esports, follow @elisaesports on Twitter and Instagram!
Elisa Masters Espoo ‘22 is coming closer and we know that all of you are eager to know who you will be seeing in Metro Areena 18.-20.11.2022. We promise, you do not have to wait for too long, but let’s take a look at the teams that have already been announced!
INVITED: ENCE
As the event was announced in June, at the same time was announced our 1st invite team ENCE. ENCE is currently holding #16 in the world rankings and they are preparing for the Legends stage of the Major tournament in Rio. After the Majors, we will be seeing the team in Espoo!
QUALIFIED: HEET
The 1st qualified team for Elisa Masters was discovered in July when HEET secured the win of the Elisa Invitational Spring 2022. HEET is currently holding #30 in the world rankings, and Masters will be a great place for them to show how HEETED CS:GO can get.
INVITED: BIG
The 2nd invite team announced was BIG. They are currently holding #17 in the world rankings, and the team will also be seen in Rio Majors, as they start their Major tournament from Challengers stage. BIG is a familiar name in S-tier tournaments and we can not wait to see them play in Espoo.
INVITED: MOUZ
Believe it or not, we did not need any cheese to lure MOUZ to Elisa Masters as our 3rd invite team. The German-based MOUZ has been in the top 4 in multiple ESL Pro League Seasons, and they will also be attending to Rio Major tournament. MOUZ is currently holding #8 in the world rankings and will be one of the most interesting teams to follow in Elisa Masters Espoo ‘22.
INVITED: FNATIC
This orange-black colored organization was the first to win three Major tournaments: DreamHack Winter 2013, ESL One: Katowice 2015, and ESL One: Cologne 2015, and they will of course also be seen in Rio. Our 4th announced invite team was no one else than fnatic, and they are currently holding #18 in the world rankings.
INVITED: ASTRALIS
Our 5th invite team is 4-time back-to-back-to-back Major Champion Astralis. A few years back the Danish star was feared by everyone as they won basically every event they attended. The team is still strong, currently holding #11 in the world rankings. They also have a fun connection to Finland: The name “Astralis” originally belonged to a Finnish Counter-Strike team.
It’s still 4 weeks before the teams arrive in Finland, and we have 3 more invite teams to announce. Soon we will also find out which teams qualify from Elisa Fall Invitational, as the Playoffs start 24th of October.
As a tournament operator, we take integrity concerns very seriously as we continue to build and develop our tournament circuit in CS:GO. Elisa Esports has been informed about suspicious behavior in two of its matches Schade Halt vs 00 Prospects that was played on 23.8.2022 and Schade Halt vs Yodagus that was played on 29.8.2022. Both matches were shown at twitch.tv/elisaesports. The suspicion was reported by a trusted third-party integrity partner.
The suspicion indicates that two match outcomes were manipulated by one competing team, Schade Halt. This is against our competition policies and thereby the matching team has been disqualified for all Elisa Invitational matches.
The suspicion has been reported to the Finnish authorities who will be in charge of the further actions regarding the case.
We are also sharing the information provided to us with other tournament operators and ESIC.
Media questions:
Elisa Mediadesk, mediadesk@elisa.fi +35850 305 1605
Elisa Invitational Fall 2022 Contenders Stage starts next Monday, August 15th. From 16 Contender teams, only the top 8 will continue to the Main Stage.
After Open and Closed Qualifier Matches, we’ve now all the Contenders Stage teams ready to roll on next Monday.
From these 16 teams, the top 8 will advance to the next phase of the tournament, the Main Stage, where the Invite teams are already waiting. From the Main Stage, the top 8 teams will get into the Elisa Invitational Fall 2022 Playoffs.
TEAMS
Here are the Contenders Stage teams:
- KOVA
- JANO
- Into The Breach
- schadE halt
- B8
- 777 Esports
- hotspurs (Snowfall)
- PROSPECTS
- SKADE X
- SASHI Esport
- yodagus
- Tricked
- EYEBALLERS
- MASONIC
- EC Kyiv
- ECLOT
16 teams battle in the Contenders Stage (August 15th to September 8th).
SCHEDULE
Don’t miss the Contenders Stage schedule! The schedule will be updated weekly as the tournament proceeds forward.
Round 1 — 15.08. – 18.08.2022
| Opening Round 15.08.2022 11.00 CEST | JANO vs. KOVA |
| Opening Round 15.08.2022 14.00 CEST | EYEBALLERS vs. SASHI Esport |
| Opening Round 16.08.2022 11.00 CEST | EC Kyiv vs. yodagus |
| Opening Round 16.08.2022 14.00 CEST | B8 vs. 777 Esports |
| Opening Round 17.08.2022 11.00 CEST | MASONIC vs. PROSPECTS |
| Opening Round 17.08.2022 14.00 CEST | ECLOT vs. SKADE X |
| Opening Round 18.08.2022 11.00 CEST | Tricked vs. schadE halt |
| Opening Round 18.08.2022 14.00 CEST | Into The Breach vs. hotspurs |
Round 2 — 22.08. – 25.08.2022
| Low match 22.08.2022 11.00 CEST | SKADE X vs. yodagus |
| Low match 22.08.2022 14.00 CEST | hotspurs vs. 777 Esports |
| Low match 23.08.2022 11.00 CEST | KOVA vs. Sashi Esport |
| Low match 23.08.2022 14.00 CEST | PROSPECTS vs. schadE halt |
| High match 24.08.2022 11.00 CEST | EC Kyiv vs. ECLOT |
| High match 24.08.2022 14.00 CEST | Tricked vs. MASONIC |
| High match 25.08.2022 11.00 CEST | EYEBALLERS vs. JANO |
| High match 25.08.2022 14.00 CEST | B8 vs. Into The Breach |
Round 3 — 29.08. – 01.09.2022
| Elimination match 29.08.2022 11.00 CEST | KOVA vs. 777 Esports |
| Elimination match 29.08.2022 14.00 CEST | yodagus vs. schadE halt |
| Mid match 30.08.2022 11.00 CEST | Hotspurs vs. ECLOT |
| Mid match 30.08.2022 14.00 CEST | PROSPECTS vs. Sashi Esport |
| Mid match 31.08.2022 11.00 CEST | Tricked vs. B8 |
| Mid match 31.08.2022 14.00 CEST | SKADE X vs. JANO |
| High match 01.09.2022 11.00 CEST | EYEBALLERS vs. Into The Breach |
| High match 01.09.2022 14.00 CEST | EC Kyiv vs. MASONIC |
Round 4 — 05.09. – 07.09.2022
| Elimination match 05.09.2022 11.00 CEST | JANO vs. ECLOT |
| Elimination match 05.09.2022 14.00 CEST | PROSPECTS vs. yodagus |
| High match 06.09.2022 11.00 CEST | Tricked vs. 777 Esports |
| High match 06.09.2022 14.00 CEST | Hotspurs vs. Sashi Esport |
| High match 07.09.2022 11.00 CEST | SKADE X vs. MASONIC |
| High match 07.09.2022 14.00 CEST | EYEBALLERS vs. B8 |
Round 5 — 08.09.2022
| High match 08.09.2022 11.00 CEST | PROSPECTS vs. ECLOT |
| High match 08.09.2022 14.00 CEST | Tricked vs. SKADE X |
| High match 08.09.2022 17.00 CEST | Hotspurs vs. B8 |
Elisa Invitational CS:GO tournament series will continue with the Fall edition! Elisa Invitational Fall 2022 will be played between qualified teams and some of the most prestigious invite teams in the world. The tournament starts in the 15th of August.
The next Elisa Invitational season will be played from the 15th of August to the 19th of October 2022. Opening qualifiers will be played on the 9th of August, where 6 teams among 10 invites will get their spot in the Contenders stage. The invited teams will be announced closer to the event.
Teams will be competing for a total Prize Pool of $25,000 and 2 spots in the Elisa Masters Espoo ’22 event.
- Format
- Stage 1 – Qualifiers
- Stage 2 – Contenders
- August 15th – September 8th
- Every week from Monday to Thursday
- Swiss Group (Best-of-3) with 10 invite teams and 6 teams from the Open Qualifiers.
- The top 8 teams will advance to Stage 3, Main Swiss
- Stage 3 – Main Swiss
- September 12th – October 13th
- Every week from Monday to Thursday
- Swiss Group (Best-of-3) with 8 invite teams and 8 teams from the Contenders
- Top 8 teams will secure spots in Stage 4, the Playoffs
- Stage 4 – Playoffs
- October 17th – 19th
- Single-Elimination Bracket with 4 rounds of play: Opening Matches, Quarter Finals, Semi Finals, and Grand Finals
- 12 teams in total; 8 teams in the Opening Matches from Main Swiss, 4 teams invited straight to the Quarter Finals
- Prize pool
- 1st: $12,500 + spot to the Elisa Masters Espoo ’22
- 2nd: $3,500 + spot to the Elisa Masters Espoo ’22
- 3-4th: $1,500
- 5-8th: $1,000
- 9-12th: $500
- You can find more information about the tournament, as well as current esports news at elisaesports.fi
- For the latest news regarding everything Elisa Esports, follow @elisaesports on Twitter and Instagram!
