The first European professional league for PUBG will be launching in January 2019, announced by PUBG Corp. and StarLadder, and will feature a €1,000,000 prize pool.
Simply named the PUBG Europe League (PEL), the top teams will compete for a qualification spot at an international event at the end of the season.
This final international event will pit the best teams from around the world against each other for a share of the prize pool and to decide the overall champion.
There will be three ‘phases’ over the course of the 2019 inaugural season. 16 teams will compete in a “specifically-designed” LAN studio, tailored for the battle royale experience. Its exact location is not announced, but will be in one of Europe’s capital cities.
Accommodation and travel support will be provided for by league organizers for the participating teams, as well as a revenue share program being introduced to further support players and organizations.
Qualifying tournaments for the PEL will begin in October 2018 and conclude in mid December, culminating in a 32 team LAN event.
PUBG Corp. Vice President, Alex Nam, explained that the PEL is part of their five year plan for PUBG esports, bringing more stability and consistency for players and fans.
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“The PUBG Europe League brings more consistency with regular matches from professional teams, bringing an increase in competitive matches for the fans and players of PUBG to get excited for and watch.”
StarLadder will be working with PUBG Corp., hoping to take an esport title in its relative infancy and turn it into “a full-fledged sport with a real professional League. Broadcasting PUBG is a challenge, but we are ready for it,” says CEO & Founder Roman Romantsov.
The league will feature a promotion and relgation system, to promote “organically building competitive dynamics”, rather than following in the footsteps of franchised leagues like the LCS and Overwatch League.
With incentives like revenue sharing, avoiding relegation will be massive for teams and not just in terms of prize money.
“Open League, for entry-level teams, will be divided into three regions: Europe West, Europe East, and Middle East and Africa. Contenders League, for teams of a higher skill level, will unite the whole of Europe. Teams will be able to get into the top divisions of the League by winning in special promotion tournaments at the end of each phase.”
Teams can register to participate in qualifying tournaments now:
- Registration for MEA players
- Registration for Europe East players
- Registration for Europe West players
Source: PUBG / StarLadder