Cover Image Courtesy: DreamHack Counter-Strike
DreamHack has announced the groups along with the schedule of the DH Masters Dallas 2019. The event which features a $250,000 prize pool will be taking place at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center from 28th May - 2nd June.
The Dallas event will witness participation from 16 teams out of which 10 are direct invites while the remaining 6 have made their way through various regional qualifiers.
Image Credit: Liquipedia
Event Format
The 16 teams have been divided into two groups of 8 teams each for the Group Stage. Both the groups will be following a double elimination bracket where the initial games are a best-of-one following which all the other games will be a three-match series.
Image Credit: Liquipedia
Three teams from each group will move ahead onto the Playoffs with the winners of each group directly qualify for the semifinals. The remaining two teams advance to the Upper & Lower bracket of the quarterfinals, according to their rank.
The Playoffs will take place from 31st May - 2nd June with the winner of the event walking away with the lions share of the total prize pool.
Group A
Teams which will definitely be making it through to the Playoffs are Liquid & FaZe.
The top NA org Liquid will be looking to secure another first-place finish to prove that the 5-year drought has ended and that Sydney was not a one-off chance.
While FaZe now being led by the experienced Neo will be one pack to look out for. Also, the addition of NiKo who had missed out on all the action in the land down under will be a big advantage, especially now that the burden of being an IGL has been lifted from his shoulders.
After mediocre finishes in their last few events, NiP will be facing quite the competition from both Vitality and North. As usual, I will be rooting for an upset by an Asian team. Lucid Dream might not be my choice though as the team is heavily inexperienced when it comes to playing at international LAN events, but Tyloo has the potential if they play a bit patiently and somehow convince somebody to not push through every smoke!
Group B
The Danish hunters, ENCE will be looking to cement its position as the only threat for Astralis by winning an event in their absence. They will be undoubtedly making their way through the Group Stage and the way they have been performing so far I can confidently say that they will be the winners of this group.
Fnatic has been looking quite formidable the way they have been putting themselves out there on the field. Runners-up at Sydney, Fnatic gave hell to NiP after the outstanding series had everyone on the edge of their seats. They will be surely putting up a tough fight.
The third time will be a tough draw between NRG Esports & Renegades. After a disappointing run at the IEM Sydney 2019, Renegades will be again playing with smooya as a stand-in for Gratisfaction. This is the main reason why my confidence in the team has deterred. The third spot is a tough tie between the two.
First Day Schedule
Stay tuned, as the 16 teams from around the world make their way to Dallas at the end of the month. Which teams do you guys think will be making their way through the group stage?