Cover Image Courtesy - Micro Entertainment
Asia’s very own domestic league, Asian Development League is back once again following last year's successful run which was won by none other than the Chinese powerhouse Tyloo.
The league which is a joint project involving both Vision Studio and Douyu has announced that ADL will be running a total of four seasons this year, with the first season due to take place in the month of March – April followed by the three other seasons set to be played until the end of 2019.
The four seasons offer a total prize pool of $59,400 with the first season offering a prize pool of $14,900 which will be divided in between the winner ($10,400) and the runner-up ($4,500).
The upcoming Asian Development League 2019 – Season 1 will witness a total of 10 participants, 8 of whom are being directly invited while the remaining 2 will be making their way through the Closed Qualifiers.
The teams participating in the event are as follows:
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B.O.O.T-d[S] - Direct Invite
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CyberZen - Direct Invite
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Beyond - Direct Invite
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5Power - Direct Invite
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Gosu - Direct Invite
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Ehome - Direct Invite
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Absolute - Direct Invite
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TBD (To Be Decided) - Direct Invite
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Closed Qualifier
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Closed Qualifier
Closed Qualifier
The remaining two slots will be occupied by teams that qualify through the Closed Qualifier which will be taking place from 4th-8th March, featuring 8 directly invited teams.
Image Credit: Liquipedia
These teams will be divided into two groups of 4 teams. Each group will undergo a BO3, double elimination GSL format. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the Playoffs.
The Playoffs will follow a BO3, single elimination format with the top two teams making it to the Main Event.
The Asian Development League 2019 – Season 1 will take place from 18th March-11th April, featuring a Round Robin League format just like last time. Every game will be a BO3 match-up with the top four teams moving ahead onto the Playoffs.
The Playoffs will be played in-between 11th-15th April as a BO3, Double Elimination Format.
The defending champions Tyloo, who will be seen in action in the upcoming New Challengers Stage of the IEM Katowice 2019 seem to be missing from the list of the Directly Invited teams. All the other direct invites from last year seem to have been re-invited this year with the exception of Flash Gaming.
Ehome, who had to make their way to the Main Event through the Closed Qualifier last year have been Directly Invited this time around to secure one of the empty slots while the other slot still remains empty.
The Closed Qualifier will witness the return of BTRG, BTRG.IMBA, Storm Rider and Recca Esports, along with the inclusion of some new teams like Alpha Red, Lynn Vision Gaming, Thirteen Team and wNv Teamwork.
With only two slots up for grabs, my best bet would be to go with the team from Thailand, Team Alpha along with the top Indonesian team, Recca Esports.
The only hiccup in going behind the two Chinese teams BTRG and BTRG.IMBA is that both of them placed at the bottom of the league last time around.
Image Credit: Liquipedia
The line-up of the two teams is still unclear at the moment but seeing the recent performances of the other competitors they are surely going to face stiff competition.
The curveball can be expected from the likes of the Mongolian team, Storm Riders. On a good day, starting the match off with some great rounds and gaining momentum, the team can surely cause an upset.
As for the last slot that remains TBD, I guess ViCi Gaming, Tyloo or MVP.PK, any one of these would make a great addition to the league. Not only will the level of competition increase but so will the leagues reach and popularity.
The matches will be streamed live in Chinese and Russian. Following are the links to the streaming platform.
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