Cover And Thumbnail Image Courtesy: DreamHack Counter-Strike
The first DreamHack Masters event of 2020 has finally been announced and will be taking place online in light of the current coronavirus situation. The tournament will be featuring a $300,000 prize pool, with 32 teams spread across 4 regions, scheduled to take place from 19th May onwards.
North America, Europe, Asia, and Oceania will be the four regions across which the tournament will be played. The schedule of the tournament for the four regions along with the division of the prize pool inbetween them is as follows,
Europe | North America | Asia | Oceania | |
Group Stage | 19th May - 30th May | 19th May - 30th May | N/A | N/A |
Playoffs | 8th June - 14th June | 8th June - 14th June | 2nd June - 7th June | 2nd June - 7th June |
Direct Invites | 14 | 6 | 2 | 2 |
Via Qualifiers | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 |
Prize Pool | $160,000 | $100,000 | $20,000 | $20,000 |
This will be the last tournament to take place before ESL One: Cologne 2020, hence the points provided to the teams following this tournament and the rank list thus obtained, will determine the direct invites for the next ESL Pro Tour Masters Championship tournament taking place in Cologne.
Audience at a DreamHack Masters Event
Following is a list of directly invited teams for each regional tournament,
- Europe: BIG, Mousesports, Astralis, Fnatic, G2 Esports, Vitality, NIP, ENCE, Complexity, North, FaZe Clane, MAD Lions.
- North America: EG, Team Liquid, 100 Thieves, FURIA, MIBR, Gen.G Esports.
- Asia: TYLOO, ViCi Gaming.
- Oceania: Renegades, Order.
The respective regional qualifiers for the four regions will take place from 16th - 20th April, featuring both an open and closed qualifier. More information on the same will be available soon.
[Also Read: BLAST Premier Spring Showdown and Finals Split into 2 Regions and Moved Online due to Coronavirus Pandemic]
There has been no mention of the following tournament partnering with Valve to come under the regional major rankings series. With the format being followed by the tournament organizer it could have easily qualified to be one.
All the tournament organizers have adapted well and seem to have found a good structure on how to go forth with the upcoming tournaments. Let’s see how these events turn out to be and if the audience like the way these events are conducted.