ESL Updates Its CS:GO Tournament Calendar — IEM China 2022 Is Officially Canceled

The ESL tournament operator updates the calendar of its CS:GO tournaments. The main change in the tournament schedule is the cancellation of IEM China 2022, which was supposed to take place in December this year.

In light of the ongoing COVID-19 situation and the difficulty of hosting an international event in China, we have made the decision not to host the scheduled IEM China 2022 later this year. We will continue to monitor developments in the region through 2023 and beyond.

Additionally, to avoid conflict with the BLAST Premier Fall Final 2022 on November 26-27, the ESL Pro League Season 17 Conference will be rescheduled to 2023, allowing us to schedule it in line with our original vision and tie it directly to the 17th EPL season. Full details for 2023 will follow shortly.

As can be judged from the announcement, the organizers decided not to force the participants to be torn between competitions, having shifted the full schedule without being ready. As a result, the ESL Pro League Season 17 Conference, which was supposed to take place this fall, has been postponed to next year.

In addition, ESL has yet to come up with an exact schedule for IEM Katowice 2023, due to take place next February.

However, the biggest omission can be called the cancellation of IEM China 2022. Given the popularity of esports in the Middle Kingdom, as well as the long absence of major championships, the current coronavirus pandemic will hit local fans hard. Probably, the ESL tournament operator will not add to the list of championships due to the loss of the LAN tournament in China, giving the teams a break before the final events of the season.