Contents
Welcome to the first of a weekly EsportsBets.com review-preview combination for esports tournaments.
Each week, we will be previewing a number of key tournaments coming up within the next few days, plus taking a look back at results from the previous week. Without further ado, let’s go.
CS:GO – ESEA Season 30 begins Jan. 14
For teams hoping to reach the highest level of CS:GO gaming across Australia, North America, and Europe, the ESL Pro League starts their quest on Jan. 14.
A total of 18 teams will compete in the Australian, North American, and European qualifiers, initially in a regular season round-robin tournament, which will see teams face each other once in a best-of-one showdown. After that round, the top eight will progress into the playoffs. At that point, it’s a single elimination bracket with all matches, including the final, competed over the best-of-three.
Some of the big names competing in these events include:
- Australia – Grayhound Gaming, Chiefs eSports Club
- North America – Luminosity Gaming, Team Singularity, MASSIVEimpact
- Europe – Virtus.pro, AGO Esports, Team LDLC, ENCE esports, Team Vitality, Sprout
Despite the Jan. 14 start, this tournament will run for several months. The finals are slated to take place in early April.
CS:GO – Katowice Minor 2019 Championships starts Jan 16.
This Euro Minor offer teams not yet qualified a chance to earn a spot at the Katowice Major in a few weeks time. Serving the same purpose is the CIS Minor. The team that finishes third in these events will earn a $5,000 prize and a place in the Minors third-place play-in.
There are a number of top teams taking part in this Minor series:
- CIS – Nemiga Gaming, Team Spirit, WInstrike Team, AVANGAR, Runtime.gg, Syman Gaming, pro100, Gambit Esports
- Europe – mousesports, Windigo Gaming, OpTic Gaming, North, Space Soldiaers, ENCE eSports, Valiance, Team Vitality
The tournaments will run Jan. 16-20 with the top two teams in each group stage section qualifying for the double-elimination playoffs. The teams that win the Winners Final and the Losers Final will earn New Challenger berths in the Katowice Major 2019, which gets underway on Feb. 13.
Dota 2 – Bucharest Minor Starts Today
With a place at the Chongqing Major waiting for the winners, not to mention the small matter of $125,000 and 120 Dota Pro Circuit points, the Bucharest Minor makes for an important start to 2019.
The Chongqing Major is the first Major of 2019 and begins on Jan. 19 in China at the BLOOMAGE Cultural and Sports Center. Fifteen of the 16 qualifiers are already confirmed, with just the one qualifying spot available for the Bucharest Minor winner.
Your already known qualifiers include:
- OG (Europe)
- Ninjas in Pyjamas (Europe)
- TEAM TEAM (North America)
- Playmakers Esports (South America)
- Gambit Esports (CIS)
- BOOM ID (Southeast Asia)
- Keen Gaming (China)
- EHOME (China)
The Group Stage of the tournament begins today and will be played to a conclusion with both groups being decided in full. This then clears the way for the Playoffs, which will see all eight teams competing — the top two teams from each of the two groups in qualifying entering the Upper Bracket, the bottom two entering the Lower Bracket.
Only the winner can claim the top prize and the qualifying spot in the Chongqing Major in a few weeks’ time. As the winners of the International 2018, OG will be among the major favourites.
StarCraft II – GPL 2018 Grand Final to be contested Jan 11
The most prestigious trophy in Chinese StarCraft II gaming will be decided in the next couple of days. Four of the top individual players from the 2018 WCS Circuit Standings competed in the GPL 2018 starting on Dec. 22. After a hugely competitive group stage, which saw three players tie with the same 2-1 record, TIME and TooDming will compete in the final for the $8,723 top prize.
The crucial match was the final game of the group stage between Cyan (at that time unbeaten) and TOODming (then 1-1). TOODming went on to claim the win, which saw them qualify by the narrowest of margins. The final starts at 7:00 GMT on Jan. 11.
