Get our ESL Pro League Season 24 preview, outright odds, team analysis, predictions and betting tips for the CS2 tournament in Katowice.
ESL Pro League Season 24 is here, welcoming the world’s best Counter-Strike 2 teams to Katowice, Poland.
The 24th season of ESL Pro League is just around the corner, set to kick off on Saturday, October 3. The prestigious CS2 esports tournament will run for just over a week, with 16 of the world’s highest-rated teams battling it out for the trophy and the biggest slice of the US$1,000,000 prize pool.
Taking place six months after the previous iteration, ESL Pro League Season 24 is bigger and better than before. It now features an expanded field of 16 rosters and a nearly quadrupled prize pool, and it will take place at one of the most recognizable venues in the CS2 scene.
In attendance are all of the world’s heavyweights, including the defending champions, Natus Vincere; however, this time, they will not have as big a target on their backs. Instead, the attention will be on Team Spirit, Team Vitality, and Team Falcons as the top dogs, with MOUZ, FURIA, Aurora Gaming, and G2 Esports joining the fray as outsiders.
The tournament will use a changed format, starting with a 16-team Swiss-style group stage, where all squads will play a series of best-of-three games to determine eight finalists.
The top performers of the group stage will be placed in a single-elimination bracket playoffs, with best-of-three quarterfinals and semifinals, and a best-of-five grand final on October 11.
With PGL Major Singapore invites just over a month away, ESL Pro League Season 24 is a major stop in the race for the Major invites, as the teams battle for crucial VRS points, adding a pinch of excitement to one of the biggest competitions of the season.
Esportbet brings you a free Counter-Strike 2 ESL Pro League Season 24 tournament betting preview and event guide, with outright odds from the best esports bookmakers, favorites, and outright picks.
ESL Pro League Season 24 Outright Odds
Team Spirit – $3.50
Team Vitality – $3.75
Team Falcons – $5.00
MOUZ – $5.50
FURIA – $10.00
Aurora Gaming – $16.00
G2 Esports – $21.00
Legacy – $21.00
Natus Vincere – $21.00
BetBoom Team – $41.00
9z Team – $67.00
PARIVISION – $76.00
1w Team – $101.00
M80 – $151.00
TYLOO – $251.00
ShindeN – $501.00
ESL Pro League Season 24 Teams to Watch
Team Spirit
Team Spirit are the highest-rated team attending ESL Pro League Season 24, ranked first in the global rankings and Valve Regional Standings (VRS). The Russian squad have more than earned that position having placed top-four in the last six big events, including gold medals from the Esports World Cup and BLAST Open Fall.
Spirit have been the clear best team in the world since the player break and have not shown any signs of slowing down.
Team Vitality
Team Vitality were the best CS2 team of 2025 and early 2026, but since May, they have slowed down, having been struggling with roster stability. Things have looked much better since Vitality handled their roster stand-in situation, as they enter ESL Pro League following two of their best tournament performances in nearly half a year.
In September, Vitality reached the semifinals of BLAST Open Fall, and at the end of September, they won StarLadder StarSeries Fall. While minor compared to what the Bees achieved earlier in the year, the signs are clear, giving hope that Vitality could return to their old form soon.
Natus Vincere
Natus Vincere are the defending ESL Pro League champions, but hardly one of the main candidates to make a run for the trophy in October.
NAVI have been very underwhelming over the last three months. Since winning Intel Extreme Masters Atlanta in May, Natus Vincere have attended four tournaments and have not found much success, recently placing seventh-eighth at StarLadder StarSeries Fall. In other events, including the BLAST Open Fall, Esports World Cup, and IEM Cologne Major, NAVI did not break top-nine.
Even though Natus Vincere field the same players who defeated Aurora Gaming in ESL Pro League Season 23 finals, the roster is not nearly as scary as it was earlier in the season.
Team Falcons
Team Falcons, despite winning the IEM Cologne Major, haven’t been making much noise in the upper echelons of competitive Counter-Strike. They have long been regarded as a quality team who can’t quite figure it out, and that same identity seems to have stuck with them.
Since winning the Major, the Falcons crashed out of BLAST Bounty Summer in 17th-32nd, the Esports World Cup in fifth-eighth, and BLAST Open Fall in third-fourth. While not terrible results by any standards, Team Falcons were expected to do much better. The big question is whether they can.
MOUZ
MOUZ won BLAST Bounty Summer in August and finished second in BLAST Open Fall at the start of September. The other two tournaments they’ve attended over the last two months – Esports World Cup and StarLadder StarSeries – ended in a fifth-eighth and fifth-sixth place.
Those results highlight one of MOUZ’s biggest issues – lack of consistency. Long regarded as one of the most consistent CS2 teams in the world, MOUZ look nothing like the MOUZ of 2025, and until they find more traction, big trophies like ESL Pro League will be hard to reach.
FURIA
FURIA have been hanging in the top tier of competitive Counter-Strike 2 this year, but haven’t been hugely successful since securing a silver medal at the Cologne Major.
In the last three months, FURIA have attended five tournaments and managed only two notable placements – a fourth-place finish at the Esports World Cup, and a bronze medal from StarLadder StarSeries. This is a competitive team, but their form is lacking, and so is the belief that FURIA can accomplish much at ESL Pro League.
Aurora Gaming
Aurora Gaming reached the finals of ESL Pro League Season 23, but they are not expected to be nearly as successful this month.
The roster overhaul in July, which saw the arrival of Jimi “Jimpphat” Salo and Damjan “kyxsan” Stoilkovski has yet to bare any fruit, as Aurora Gaming have been struggling to leave a lasting mark in bigger events. The ninth-16th-place finish at the Esports World Cup and seventh-eighth at BLAST Open Fall do not inspire much confidence, and even the run to the finals of StarLadder StarSeries Fall proves little.
Aurora have the firepower to shake up the balance of power and surprise some of the top dogs. But a deep run in this event seems highly unlikely.
ESL Pro League Season 24 Predictions
Outright Bet – Team Spirit to win
Even before Intel Extreme Masters Cologne Major, Team Spirit have started to ramp up, with a runner-up finish at IEM Masters Rio and a gold medal from PGL Astana. While their Major run ended in the semifinals, Spirit have not shown any signs of slowing down since, winning two of the next three events, including the more recent Esports World Cup and BLAST Open Fall.
Danil “donk” Kryshkovets being in excellent shape helps, but lately, he hasn’t been the only player on Spirit who can carry the team to victory.
Things are falling into place for Team Spirit, who are currently the undisputed best team in the world.
Team Spirit to win
Outsider Bet – Team Vitality to reach the final
Team Vitality have been waking up from their long slumber, and while they are not quite at the same level they were in 2025 and early 2026, Vitality have been playing well of late.
Since sorting out their roster situation, the Bees have reached the semifinals of BLAST Open Fall, and they won StarLadder StarSeries Fall. While Vitality have yet to prove they can efficiently deal with Team Spirit, Team Falcons, MOUZ, and Aurora are all very beatable and should not present Vitality much of a challenge en route to the big stage.
Team Vitality to reach the final
Mark Prezelj
Esports Betting Analyst
Mark Prezelj is a Slovenian esports betting analyst with over 3,500 articles at EsportBet and the founder of Lines64.com — someone who has been reading odds longer than most readers have been watching esports.
