ESL is moving ahead with its next Dota 2 event, hosting a 16-team, all-online version of ESL One Germany for the Europe and CIS region.
The usual suspects like Alliance, OG, and Team Secret will battle it out for their share of $400,000 from Oct. 5 to Nov. 1.
Overall, the 16 teams wil play in a single pool for a Swiss group stage with five rounds of matches that are all best-of-three. Teams will need at least three wins to advance to the playoffs, which will be the standard double elimination, best-of-three until the best-of-five grand finals.
As for who will be competing, 12 of the teams are direct invites, while the remaining four will earn their spots through an open qualifier. More details about the qualifiers will be given later, but here are the teams that have already been invited.
- Secret
- OG
- Nigma
- Team Liquid
- Alliance
- Ninjas in Pyjamas
- Virtus Pro
- Natus Vincere
- Vikin.gg
- HellRaisers
- FlyToMoon
- TBD
Starting on Oct. 5, the group stage will run in waves up until Oct. 20, with players getting one off day every four days or so. The playoffs will begin on Oct. 23 and follow a similar format, giving teams a little time to rest before ending on Nov. 1.
ESL will provide more information on the qualifiers, the final direct invite, and any other details soon. For now, Dota 2 fans can only wait to see if Team Secret will take home their second-straight ESL One title at ESL One Germany Online.
