ESL FACEIT Group and GRID announce multi-year partnership

ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) has secured a multi-year partnership with esports and gaming data platform GRID.

Taking effect as of IEM Cologne 2025, GRID has become the exclusive distributor, infrastructure, and integrity partner for all ESL Counter-Strike 2 and Dota 2 tournaments, including ESL One and the ESL Pro League.

According to a release, EFG will utilise GRID’s infrastructure to manage data capture and distribution for many of its esports tournaments. It will provide insights and feeds for fans, media, sportsbooks and ESL FACEIT Group partners.

GRID will also bring audio/video feeds and visualisations of data for both betting and media entities.

“EFG has defined esports in CS2 and Dota 2 over the last two decades, and we are proud to enter into this ecosystem as an exclusive data partner,” commented Moritz Maurer, CEO and Founder of GRID.

“Ultimately, EFG and GRID, alongside the existing portfolio of leading rights holders on the GRID Data Platform, aim to establish a standard for data in esports and gaming.”

The partnership will take effect immediately with IEM Cologne, which is running from July 23rd to August 3rd, 2025. As one of Counter-Strike 2’s biggest events, it features a prize pool of $1m and includes the top teams from Valve’s Global Rankings in June.

ESL’s partnership with GRID highlights the latter’s growing interest in the data and analytics side of its expansive ecosystem. This year alone, ESL FACEIT Group announced a multi-year deal with Shikenso Analytics and acquired analytics platform Mobalytics.

GRID also continues to solidify its presence in the esports sector, providing its data offering to many stakeholders in the industry. Its ESL partnership was announced not long after its recent partnership with Clavision for Dota 2 Masters 2025: Snow-Ruyi. GRID’s other partners also include Riot Games and BLAST.

Georg Brandes, Senior Director Media Rights & Distribution at ESL FACEIT Group, added: “We’re looking forward to seeing how GRID’s technology will improve the experience for our fans, players, and partners, while unlocking new ways to engage with our products and creating innovative revenue opportunities that support a more sustainable future for esports.”