ORDER’s League team will still defend LCO title at DreamHack, CS:GO lineup’s attendance under cloud

The Melbourne org collapsed earlier this week.

Photo via Getty Images for Riot Games

ORDER’s League of Legends team will still attend DreamHack Melbourne in September as part of the LCO 2022 Split Two playoffs, despite the organization entering voluntary administration earlier this week.

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The org’s League team qualified for DreamHack via Split Two playoffs after outlasting Pentanet.GG in a five-game postseason battle on Monday evening. They joined frontrunners the Chiefs—who finished the regular season undefeated—as the second of three teams that will play at Melbourne Park.

ORDER entered the year’s second split as reigning LCO champs.

Following news breaking on the organization’s collapse on Aug. 17, it has been confirmed ORDER’s championship League team will still have a central role at DreamHack Melbourne following their qualification.

”We’re happy to confirm that there will be no material change to ORDER’s League of Legends team being present and competing at the Split 2 Playoffs at DreamHack Melbourne,” ESL Australia marketing and sales head Graeme Du Toit told Dot Esports in an email on Wednesday. 

He added: ”Fans will still have the opportunity to cheer them on.”

Photo via Getty Images for Riot Games

Dot Esports has spoken to several ORDER players since Wednesday morning, with the League playing group delivering a unified message: Yes, it’s a “bad situation,” but their desire to win hasn’t changed despite distractions.

In fact, it’s doubled their drive—they want to cap ”everything” with a win.

If ORDER does win it all at DreamHack, it is unclear what will happen with the Worlds slot and prize split. Dot will update this article with more details as soon as possible.

Melbourne Esports Open 2019 fan shot.
Photo by Sarah Cooper via ESL Australia

But there is still a cloud around whether the org’s other competitive lineups will appear at the event. ORDER was one of eight Counter-Strike teams set to contest ESL Challenger Melbourne from Sept. 2 alongside international squads like Imperial, Evil Geniuses, and OG. The eight-team event boasts a $100,000 prize pool and the winner will qualify for the Pro League Conference.

”We’re still working through the impacts that today’s announcement has with regards to ESL Challenger Melbourne,” Du Toit said in the same email to Dot, ”and we will share any updates to social media [on Twitter] at @ESLCS.”

ESL also told Kotaku it was ”identifying” possible solutions.

ORDER also has rosters in VALORANT, FIFA, and carries a number of Fortnite stars in its esports stable. The org also had several content creators on the books.

The company’s League roster will still carry the ”ORDER” name at DreamHack.

Photo via ESL Australia

Beyond League and CS:GO, the new Australian gaming event, which will run from Sept. 2 to 4, will host other hands-on events for gamers to enjoy, including meet and greets, testing booths, and more. Even tabletop games and showcases from the city’s top independent development studios will be available.

There will also be a Halo circuit tourney with $50,000 up for grabs.

On the impending event, ESL representatives said: “Although today’s news comes as a shock, 2022 is still on track to be a massive year for Australian esports. ESL-run programs are… pulling in record viewership across the year, and have a strong suite of commercial partners. As we mark the return to live, stadium-scale esports events this year with DreamHack Melbourne, the industry is coming out of COVID-19 strong.

”Esports orgs that operate sustainable business models are likely to be rewarded with the growth we’ve seen in the space over the last few years.”

The third League team at DreamHack has yet to be confirmed, as of publication. One of Pentanet.GG or Kanga Esports will qualify after a best-of-five series on Aug. 23.

Author
Image of Isaac McIntyre
Isaac McIntyre
Isaac McIntyre is the Aussie Editor at Dot Esports. He previously worked in sports journalism at Fairfax Media in Mudgee and Newcastle for six years before falling in love with esports—an ever-evolving world he's been covering since 2018. Since joining Dot, he's twice been nominated for Best Gaming Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism Awards and continues to sink unholy hours into losing games as a barely-Platinum AD carry. When the League servers go down he'll sneak in a few quick hands of the One Piece card game. Got a tip for us? Email: isaac@dotesports.com.