CS:GO ESL One Rio postponed to November, prize pool doubled

The Coronavirus Pandemic has brought life to a standstill across the world. In yet another rescheduling of an esports event, Valve and ESL have decided to postpone ESL One Rio Major, which was supposed to be the first CS:GO major this year and was supposed to be held in May, has been postponed to November. 

The decision comes after the Coronavirus cases have increased exponentially across the world. Apart from postponing, the prize pool of the event has been doubled from $1 million to $2 million, making ESL One Rio the CS:GO tournament with the highest prize pool ever. In an official statement, ESL said: 

"The May 2020 CSGO Major in Rio de Janeiro has been rescheduled to 19 - 22 November due to the global health situation related to COVID-19. The May Major’s prize pool will be added to the November Major, so the Rio Major will have a $2,000,000 prize pool. 

The tournament will remain at the Jeunesse Arena and tickets purchased for the May date will be valid for the November date. Fans who do not want to retain their tickets may easily request a refund in their Eventbrite account using the email address they purchased their ticket with. If you experience any trouble, contact our support team via csgo@eslgaming.com. 

Stay tuned for updates on how participants for the Major are determined and content for the May Major / Minor time frame as ESL and Valve are working through them. 

The tournament will remain a Championship level event in the ESL Pro Tour and count towards winning the Intel® Grand Slam.  

We hope you understand the decision."