After four qualifiers, 16 teams are set to compete in the ninth season of the ESL Major Series for €5000.

Last season, we saw Online Kingdom win it all in HoN's debut as part of the ESL Major Series. The top four teams from Season VIII are returning for this season, where they will be facing 12 teams who battled their way through the qualifiers.

ESL Major Series Season IX - Qualified Teams FnaticMSI.HoNTop 4 in Season VIII ONLINE-KINGDOMTop 4 in Season VIII
compLexity GamingTop 4 in Season VIII
Infused Tt eSPORTSTop 4 in Season VIII
HoNPortal.orgQualifier #1
sGtyQualifier #1
Gameburg Team HoNQualifier #1
TRIVQualifier #2
QQ ClanQualifier #2
Loizs homiesQualifier #2
Midget MafiaQualifier #3
Icy VengalionzQualifier #3
ahahahQualifier #3
Frenetic ArrayQualifier #4
from PubstarsQualifier #4
Reason Gaming HoNQualifier #4
The EMS is the highest level of European competition in the ESL for games that are not part of the Intel Extreme Masters. This season has a €27500 total prize pool and includes other games such as Counter-Strike: Source, Quake Live, and League of Legends. The tournament is scheduled to run through December 2011, with groupstage rounds leading into a playoff bracket.

Like last season, the field of teams includes several unknowns who will get the chance to cause some upsets. The returning teams will be heavily favored in the groupstage, but the second place spot in each group will be highly contested. The action begins the week of October 3rd. Expect to see an announcement of the groups soon!

Links
esl.eu - Source