How to Watch ESL One Live

Let's not bullshit around. Ever since ESL moved away from Twitch and on to Facebook, watching ESL One events has become much more challenging. Twitch nearly has a monopoly on the streaming space in the Western scene which is a bit scary, but they at least had their act together. It was always easy and convenient to find and watch matches. And the quality, at least in my experience, was always exceptional.

Enter Facebook. The platform seems to not have been architected to support live events in a seamless way, like Twitch. We can bitch and argue but unless contracts change, Facebook is here to stay as a streaming platform for many ESL events up through the end of 2019.

Here's a quick guide to help you understand where and how to watch ESL events (CS:GO & Dota).

How to Watch ESL One Live on Rivalry

We add every major tournament to our esports tournaments page. From there, you can easily find upcoming events. Once on an event page, you'll see a list of matches. If you click to any matches, you'll be able to watch them (Facebook embed) live on our site.

Alternatively, if you just head to our main page or esports matches page, you'll see all matches happening now our coming up.

Watch Live on ESL-One.com

On a desktop or laptop? No problem. Watching is easy. Just head on over to live.esl-one.com. You'll find a full list of streams, the schedule, and of course a Facebook embed.

Watch ESL One Live via Facebook App (iOS or Android)

This one can be a bit tricky. Some of the events are hosted on the WatchESLOne Facebook page. But some like Pro League are on a separate page. You might have to do a bit of searching around. Starting in the video tab of the app is a good place to start.

Once you do find the stream, it seems to work pretty well if you stay within the app. Yeah you miss out on Twitch emoji's and meme central, but the video itself works well.

Watch ESL One Live on Twitch

If you want the main production in English, you'll have to watch through Facebook. If you speak another language or don't mind attempting to follow along in Russian, then you an turn to Twitch.

Or if you're just into the game play itself and don't care about the main production, you can tune into Twitch as pro players and influencers (BSJ, Admiral Bulldog, or others) watch the games in the client and cast / analyze on their own.

Watch ESL One Live via Chromecast (Facebook app)

Why watch on a computer or mobile device when you have that nice big HDTV sitting around. If you're in the Facebook app, there's a little picture of a TV in the corner. You can click that and then stream to your Chromecast.

BUT THERE IS A CATCH. Facebook's app (at least for iOS) seems to default to 60 fps. If you have a normal Chromecast, it stutters like crazy and just won't work. There is seemingly no way to tell the Facebook app to cast in 30 fps.

There is a solution, but it'll cost you $69 USD: Chromecast Ultra. This device supports casting and streaming in up to 4k resolution but more importantly, has full support for 60 fps.

Watch ESL One Live via Chromecast (Chrome Browser)

If you fire up the stream on ESL's site or Facebook in your Chrome browser, you can cast straight to the Chromecast on your TV as well. You have to keep your computer around and running, but it seems to work pretty well.

Watch ESL One Live on PS4 or Xbox One

Nope. Not happening. As of the time of this writing, there's no great way to to watch ESL One on your PS4 or Xbox. The PS4 doesn't even have a Facebook app. Yikes!

Watch ESL One Live on Apple TV

You're heavily invested in an iPhone and Apple TV. So let's Airplay some CS:GO or Dota with these amazing devices. NOPE. Facebook iOS app does not currently support Airplay.

If you want to watch through your Apple TV, then you'll need to screen mirror your entire device. It works...but means you can't use your phone at all. Lame.

Have anything to add to this article? Did I get something wrong? Let me know in the comment and we'll keep this bad boy updated and accurate, together as one big happy esports family.