In Season 57, more than 10% of ESEA rosters filled a missing spot through Team Finder. Season 58 builds on that with Player Finder, the other half of recruitment. Until now, captains posted their teams and players applied. Now players can also post themselves as LFT (Looking For Teams) and let captains come to them, to give players more chances of getting picked up. Alongside this new feature, Season 58 introduces ID Verification in Main, replaces server location vetoes with a preference-based system, and, in EU, runs a one-time ECL Play-in into ECL Finals. [Registration closes July 9](https://www.faceit.com/en/cs2/league/ESEA%20League/a14b8616-45b9-4581-8637-4dfd0b5f6af8/ec187700-30e2-4245-b5e2-daa762db12fc/teams/find?cp=s58_blog), and the season's first matches begin July 13. Before we get into Season 58, here is how Season 57 finishes.
#### Season 57 Season Finals The Season 57 Season Finals decide the NA/EU champions and, in EU, the first teams to enter the new ECL Playin. HLTV aims to cover the quarterfinals onward for both the EU and NA Season Finals. Community co-streamers will carry the matches with 150,000 FACEIT Points available through drops: NA: [floofys](http://twitch.tv/floofys) with [ParksCasts](https://x.com/ParksCasts), [bonamant](http://twitch.tv/bonamant). EU: [dutchboycasts](http://twitch.tv/dutchboycasts), [prawnytv](http://www.twitch.tv/prawnytv), [peluso33](https://www.twitch.tv/peluso33). ![S57- costreames.webp](https://cms.faceit-cdn.net/S57_costreames_ee0ef10919/S57_costreames_ee0ef10919.webp)
#### What's new in Season 58 - Player Finder: post yourself as LFT on FACEIT and let captains find you. - ID verification now required in the Main groups (NA and EU). - New Open groups in Europe. - The revised grouping, previously tested in EU, is arriving in NA. - A preference-based server selection that replaces vetoes. - A one-time EU ECL Play-in, the bridge into the new ESL Challenger League format. - And more
#### Player Finder: let Captains find you Team Finder lets captains post their team and players apply. Player Finder is the other half of that loop: by posting themselves as LFT (looking for team) on FACEIT, players become visible to captains browsing the Player Finder directory to complete their rosters. These two tools are built to work together, so use both at once: stay visible to captains in the Player Finder directory while you browse and apply to rosters yourself. - Search for teams with Team Finder: Browse active rosters, apply to the ones you want, and wait for a reply from the captain. - Get scouted with Player Finder: Post yourself as LFT so more captains can find you, evaluate your profile, and reach out to you directly. Post yourself as [LFT](https://www.faceit.com/en/cs2/league/ESEA%20League/a14b8616-45b9-4581-8637-4dfd0b5f6af8/ec187700-30e2-4245-b5e2-daa762db12fc/teams/find-players?cp=s58_blog) and [apply](https://www.faceit.com/en/cs2/league/ESEA%20League/a14b8616-45b9-4581-8637-4dfd0b5f6af8/ec187700-30e2-4245-b5e2-daa762db12fc/teams/find?cp=s58_blog) to several teams at the same time to give yourself more chances of getting picked up. ![LFT.webp](https://cms.faceit-cdn.net/LFT_e3bd09c88c/LFT_e3bd09c88c.webp)
#### ID verification expands to Main ID verification makes ban evasion and multi-accounting harder, which helps protect the integrity of League matches. It was already required in Advanced and in Season Finals, and this season, we are expanding it to Main in NA and EU. The expansion comes with website changes that make it clear when a team member still needs to verify and what to do about it. Verify your identity [here](https://www.faceit.com/en/settings/verification). ![58up_idv.webp](https://cms.faceit-cdn.net/58up_idv_710936d49c/58up_idv_710936d49c.webp)
#### New Open groups in Europe In Europe, the unranked Open 1-8 group is being split by FACEIT level into two: Open 1-4 and Open 5-8. A single group spanning levels 1 to 8 puts lower-level teams up against much higher-level teams. Splitting it places you with teams at a closer level from the start. ![S58 Pyramid (1).webp](https://cms.faceit-cdn.net/S58_Pyramid_1_83b72a236b/S58_Pyramid_1_83b72a236b.webp)
#### The EU grouping system comes to NA After launching in Europe in Season 57, the exact same grouping system is arriving in NA for Season 58. In large groups, top rosters frequently matched against much lower-level teams, creating wide Elo gaps during the regular season. Any VRS ranked group from Open to Advanced with more than 127 teams is now split into sub-groups, sized by team count: - 0 to 127 teams: no sub-groups. - 128 to 255 teams: 2 sub-groups. - 256 or more teams: 4 sub-groups. Teams are distributed across sub-groups using a snake-style seeding order, and each sub-group runs its own playoff bracket, which increases the number of teams advancing from the regular season. This matches you against teams at your skill level earlier in the season. ![NA Seeding.webp](https://cms.faceit-cdn.net/NA_Seeding_9287dc9ae1/NA_Seeding_9287dc9ae1.webp) Group Playoffs: Each sub-group now has its own playoff bracket, replacing the old Bracket A and B system. This new structure increases the number of teams advancing from the regular season. Season Finals: Qualification for the Season Finals is determined by the number of sub-groups in a given group: - 4 Sub-groups: The winner of each sub-group bracket qualifies. - 2 Sub-groups: The top 2 teams from each sub-group bracket qualify. - No Sub-groups: The top 4 teams from the single bracket qualify. VRS Compliance: NA region remains fully compliant with VRS guidelines. Read more about the grouping changes [here](https://support.faceit.com/hc/en-us/articles/26209032767772-Revised-Grouping-Europe). A knowledge base article with the changes on East and West conference follows in early July. ![NA Playoffs.webp](https://cms.faceit-cdn.net/NA_Playoffs_c1eb14e1b0/NA_Playoffs_c1eb14e1b0.webp)
#### Server selection now based on preference Server location is moving away from vetoes. Instead, captains rank their team's server locations from best to worst, and for every match the system uses both teams' rankings to settle on the fairest shared location. Server preference is available in every region except ZA and OCE. Everywhere else, the locations you can rank depend on your region and conference. Your ranking applies to all your matches that season, and you can update it any time, though changes only take effect for matches that have not been generated yet. This change does three things: - It sets the location from how both teams rank their locations, instead of one side vetoing the other. - It removes veto time, which currently takes around five minutes per match. - It lets FACEIT reserve servers in advance and run on bare-metal servers instead of cloud, which improves server performance. Server preference will be available closer to the start of Season 58. ![image (47).webp](https://cms.faceit-cdn.net/image_47_0062f11005/image_47_0062f11005.webp)
#### The road to ECL in 2026: the EU ECL Play-in In 2026, and in Europe only, Seasons 57 and 58 connect directly to the new ESL Challenger League (ECL) format through the ECL Play-in. The top two teams from each of the Season 57 and Season 58 Season Finals qualify for the ECL Play-in, four teams in total, and the best two from the ECL Play-in advance to the ECL Finals. That is the route from ESEA League into ESL Challenger League and, from there, the ESL Pro League. In every other region, the path to ECL stays the same. From 2027, the top EU team from each ESEA season's Finals qualifies directly for the ECL Finals. ![S58 ECL v2.webp](https://cms.faceit-cdn.net/S58_ECL_v2_be4992a76a/S58_ECL_v2_be4992a76a.webp)
#### Earn While You Recruit: ESEA League Season 58 Referral Program Creators, streamers, and community leaders: invite players to ESEA League with your own unique 10% discount link to earn prizes. Manage it all through the FACEIT Creators Dashboard, where you can get your referral link, track sign-ups, and monitor your prize progress. 🏆 Referral Prizes (starts June 25) Earn Creator Points for each referral you make, and first-time and reactivating referrals are worth more. Redeem your points in the Creator Shop for the prizes you want. Points stay in your balance until you redeem them, so you can save up across multiple seasons. 🛒 Creator Shop (new) Redeem your Creator Points for prizes directly in the new Creator Shop: - FACEIT Premium codes - FACEIT Points - More to come 🎟 Battle Pass Rewards Earn up to 420,000 FACEIT Points by leveling up. Special bonus: $250 cash for 100 or more first-time referrals. Join the FACEIT Creator Program to get your [referral link](https://faceitcreators.com/)
#### Season 58 Timeline - Registration: Until July 9 2026 - Regular Season: July 13 - August 30 - Roster Lock: August 16 - Playoffs: September 1 - September 20 - Team Group Status Updates: September 21 - Season Finals: September 21 - September 27
#### Additional improvements A few more improvements land this season: - Coach slots are back: Valve's animgraph2 update in April broke the functionality we built for coaches to join the game server and observe their team. That functionality is now restored, so coach slots work again for Season 58. - Team Finder: captains can set an Elo requirement so applicants must fall within the defined range, and chat is now directly visible on the Recruitment Center page so conversations are harder to miss. - Match list: maps now have visuals, the opponent's current standing is shown directly in the list, and rescheduling information lives on the list itself, including the option to reschedule and any outstanding proposals, so you have a full rescheduling overview in one place.
Thank you for reading. Registration for Season 58 closes July 9, so lock in your roster, or use [Player Finder](https://www.faceit.com/en/cs2/league/ESEA%20League/a14b8616-45b9-4581-8637-4dfd0b5f6af8/ec187700-30e2-4245-b5e2-daa762db12fc/teams/find-players?cp=s58_blog) and [Team Finder ](https://www.faceit.com/en/cs2/league/ESEA%20League/a14b8616-45b9-4581-8637-4dfd0b5f6af8/ec187700-30e2-4245-b5e2-daa762db12fc/teams/find?cp=s58_blog)to build one. The ESEA League Team