This autumn will see the return of the United Masters League. It will be the second season of the Counter-Strike tournament, and it will feature an impressive $150,000 prize pool courtesy of the Unikrn esports betting site. United Masters League 2 will also feature the involvement of GRID who will aim to provide viewers with the highest levels of engagement over the course of the nine-week CS:GO tournament. The United Masters League 2 is designed to provide a stepping stone for aspiring Counter Strike teams to rise up the rankings and compete at the highest level.
The three phases of UML
The participating CS:GO teams will be announced throughout August and September, and the first stage of the esports tournament kicks off on 2 October 2019. Season 2 of UML will take place over nine weeks and the gaming action will be divided into three distinct phases.
Phase 1
Will see the GSL group stages featuring four weeks of qualifiers. This means that eight teams will compete in GSL groups. By the end of the week’s gaming, the highest-placed seed will then play the second seed from the other group. The two winners will play each other to determine seeding, whilst the six losing teams will get the chance to come back the following week and play two additional teams.
Phase 2
Will add eight invited teams who will fight it out in best-of-three matches in a Swiss system group. This phase will take place across five weeks, and the eight top teams will go through to the next round and the bottom two teams will be eliminated.
Phase 3
Is the final single-elimination round where the teams compete for the $90,000 winning prize. Last season saw Valiance win the first United Masters League Championship and pick up the $50,000 prize.
Presenting UML🏆Season 2!⚡Powered by @GRIDesports and @UnikrnCo .
With a $150,000 prize pool, 16 European teams will ⚔️ battle over 3 months to determine our new champion.#UML🏆 #csgo pic.twitter.com/emXqIQPb2E— United Masters League (@UM_League) August 22, 2019
The fact that the prize winnings of UML 2 has nearly doubled is significant as it shows that this CS:GO tournament is growing in stature. Last year’s campaign saw the competing teams boosting their rankings for other Counter-Strike competitions like the DreamHack Open Rio, the ESL Pro League and the Charleroi Esports event.
Unikrn’s involvement this year is also important. This esports brand has proven to be a key player in competitive gaming. Their investment will aim to inspire a new generation of CS:GO gaming success. The brand has already hit the headlines through their special uMode feature where amateur gamers can bet on their own CS gameplay.
[cta-box postid=”55″]GRID’s involvement in the United Masters League 2 should also help this esports tournament hit the ground running. The data innovation company will be using the UML2 to launch its Overlay Broadcasting Tool. This promises to raise the viewer experience by using an innovative blend of statistics and data-driven solutions in their broadcast feeds. So be sure to tune in on 2 October to see the next generation of CS:GO stars in battle.
