ESL One Los Angeles Will Be Held Online
Published: Mar 26, 2020
ESL One Los Angeles, the third Major of the Dota Pro Circuit, will be held after all, but online. The tournament has been divided into 5 leagues, and will not be a typical DPC Major. The prize pools are divided per region, the qualification points seem to have been removed, and you’ll basically have the option to watch 5 tournaments running in parallel. The good part is that esports betting is still an option. The show itself may not be what you have hoped for, but you’ll still be able to enjoy yourself and bet on any match of your choosing.
ESL One Los Angeles Online Leagues
The five leagues of ESL One Los Angeles will be based on a rough geographical division. Not all of the five leagues are equal in relative strength, but the organizer have to make do with what is available and reasonably possible.
Europe & CIS
The prize pool for this league is $200,000 and the number of participants is 16. Except for two of them, the rest have already been announced.
- Team Secret
- OG
- Ninjas in Pyjamas
- Team Liquid
- Team Nigma
- Alliance
- Natus Vincere
- pro
- Gambit Esports
- Team Spirit
- HellRaisers
- B8
- Cyber Legacy
- Gentlemen
Practically, everyone who means anything in Dota 2 these days in the European and CIS regions has been allowed to take part in the tournament, for the sake of the show. The fans have already suffered the disappointment of not getting a live event. The least the organizers can do is offer them a tournament that features all of their favorite teams.
The competitors will be divided into 2 groups of 8. Each team will play against each of the other 7 opponents in its group. All matches will be Bo3. The competitive format of the Playoffs is yet to be determined. The dates are also not clear at this point. The rest of the online leagues are scheduled to start on March 28th, but this one seems to be scheduled to start on April 4th.
North America
The prize pool for the NA region is just $40,000 and the number of participants is only 4.
- Evil Geniuses
- business associates
- CR4ZY
- TBA (Chaos Esports Club released their entire roster and will have to be replaced)
The standard round-robin format will be used. Every match is Bo3. The winner of the Group Stage advances to the Grand Final. The 2nd and 3rd place competitors go to the Semifinal. The Grand Final is Bo5. The tournament starts on March 28th.
The biggest favorite in this region is Evil Geniuses.
Southeast Asia
This league has exactly the same conditions as the North American one. The only thing that’s different is the teams:
- Fnatic
- Geek Fam
- Team Adroit
- BOOM Esports
By far, the biggest favorite here is Fnatic.
South America
Same as the previous two regions. The teams are the following:
- beastcoast
- Thunder Predator
- FURIA Esports
- NoPing e-sports
On paper, beastcoast is the stronger competitor but the overall battle will be very close in this region.
China
In the Chinese region, the prize pool is $55,000 and the number of participants is 6. The top 2 teams advance to the Upper Bracket of the Playoffs. The 3rd and 4th place teams advance to the Lower Bracket. The Group Stage uses the round-robin format. Every match is Bo3. The competition is scheduled to take place between March 28th – April 5th. The competitors are the following:
- Invictus Gaming
- Vici Gaming
- LGD
- Newbee
- Royal Never Give Up
- EHOME
Based on what we saw at WeSave, PSG.LGD is the strongest team here and should at least make it to the Grand Final.
Future ESL Dota 2 Events
Online competition will not stop with the LA event. The Birmingham 2020 event is also announced for online play later this year. Additionally, ticket refunds are available for those that bought tickets for the on-site events. Some tickets can be used during next years event. For the full press release and ticketing information please check the official site.
