The inaugural ESL R1 Major Championship has crowned its winner as Marcell Csincsik took the top spot.
The ESL R1 2023 Spring Season has come to an exciting conclusion as the top 24 drivers of the season raced against one another across two days at the inaugural ESL R1 Major. Fans worldwide were kept on the edge of their seats as they tuned in during the broadcast and cheered on their favorites in-person during the live event taking place at the RENNSPORT Summit in Munich, Germany. Eventually, it was R8G eSports driver Marcell Csincsik who took the checkered flag with 240 points, driving away with €45,000 of the €225,000 total 2023 Spring Season prize pool. The 2023 Spring Season of the ESL R1 circuit commenced on February 11-12, 2023, with its first two Rounds taking place live at the IEM Expo in Katowice, Poland. Throughout the season’s eight Rounds, Team Redline’s Luke Bennett, and Porsche Coanda Esport Racing Team’s Joshua Rogers, dominated the tracks as they raced alongside 46 other drivers in their attempt to reach the pole position.
On June 3 – Major Day 1 – the 24 competing drivers were split equally into two groups and were facing off against each other in eight races. The day saw many great highlights, including Mercedes-AMG Petronas Esports Team’s James Baldwin winning his very first race in the 2023 Spring Season on the Nürburgring track, while also claiming the first place on the Monza track shortly after. Only the top 12 drivers advanced to Major Day 2 on June 4 and the heat was on as the Hungarian driver Marcell Csincsik became the first to reach “Finalist Mode” by surpassing 160 points. Being only one race away from securing the Champion’s title, however, James Baldwin caught up with him as the Englishman took the lead in Race 5 and also reached “Finalist Mode.” After two more intense races, Joshua Rogers, Luke Bennett, and Dáire McCormack also got in line for the title.
After a series of edge-of-your-seat races, Marcell Csincsik eventually managed to secure the final needed win and, with 240 points, claimed the well-earned and coveted ESL R1 2023 Spring Major Driver Championship title. Luke Bennett (187 points) and James Baldwin (183 points) trailed behind in a close second and third place, taking home €20,000 and €12,500 respectively.
“Absolutely amazing feeling, I was expecting somebody else to win – not me, the Underdog,” said Marcell Csincsik. “48 drivers around the world and it’s absolutely crazy that it’s me on the top. I want to thank my family, my team, just everyone, and ESL for organizing this whole thing – it was really amazing. Thank you, everyone.” “What a show! What a season! What an event in Munich,” said Romain Grosjean, CEO of R8G eSports. “Congrats to Marcell for the Driver title, to R8G for the second place in the Team standings, and to ESL for having created such a great virtual racing event.”
The €225,000 total prize pool of the ESL R1 2023 Spring Season marks one of the largest seen in a virtual racing tournament. €112,500 was distributed to competing teams as part of the Team Championship, with Team Redline securing the first place position. The other half of the total sum was part of the Driver Championship which concluded with the ESL R1 2023 Spring Major at the RENNSPORT Summit in Munich. ESL R1 2023 Spring Major final rankings of the Drivers Championship and prize pool winnings:
| Place | Driver | ChampionshipPrize Money |
| 1st | Marcell Csincsik | €45,000 |
| 2nd | Luke Bennett | €20,000 |
| 3rd | James Baldwin | €12,500 |
| 4th | Joshua Rogers | €8,000 |
| 5th | Dáire McCormack | €6,000 |
| 6th | Erhan Jajovski | €5,000 |
| 7th | Kevin Siggy | €3,500 |
| 8th | Moritz Löhner | €3,000 |
| 9th | Jiri Toman | €2,750 |
| 10th | Enzo Bonito | €2,500 |
| 11th | Joni Törmälä | €2,250 |
| 12th | Marko Pejic | €2,000 |
| 13th – 24th | – | |
| Total | – | €112,500 |
Team Championship results and prize pool winnings:
| Place | Team | Team ChampionshipPrize Money |
| 1st | Team Redline | €45,000 |
| 2nd | R8G eSports | €25,000 |
| 3rd | Porsche Coanda | €17,500 |
| 4th | MOUZ | €12,500 |
| 5th | Mercedes-AMG | €7,500 |
| 6th | Williams | €5,000 |
| 7th | G2 Esports | – |
| 8th | Apex Racing Team | – |
| 9th | Heroic | – |
| 10th | FURIA | – |
| 11th | BMW M Team (BS+) | – |
| 12th | FaZe Clan | – |
| Total | – | €112,500 |
Apart from the ESL R1 2023 Spring Major, the RENNSPORT Summit at which the competition took place featured many more highlights, including the much anticipated announcement that the Closed Beta of RENNSPORT will begin expanding out to more players, starting June 6, 2023. More information can be found on the official RENNSPORT website. ESL R1 will return later this year with a thrilling second season, in which the 48 drivers will continue their races. For more information about ESL R1, head to the official website, and follow ESL R1 on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook
