ESL One Los Angeles 2020 is back on. But it will take place online. And it will separate teams into five regional online leagues.
The tournament was canceled two weeks ago due to the coronavirus travel ban. But after some time and consideration, it has been revived. However, it will not follow the traditional format we’ve come to expect.
Important update to both #ESLOne Los Angeles 2020 and Birmingham 2020:
Both tournaments will now be held and broadcasted online with significant changes to the tournament format.
Find out more: https://t.co/KZtO6nr00o pic.twitter.com/9hN1rQbWed
— ESL Dota2 (@ESLDota2) March 25, 2020
The decision to make the event online will help assure the safety of players, fans, and staff. At the same time, it will help keep the competitive Dota 2 scene alive for the remainder of the year. In the past few weeks, it seemed like this year’s competitive season was in doubt. Thankfully, that isn’t the case anymore.
The new and improved iteration of the tournament will kick off on March 28. But the good news doesn’t end there. Since more teams will compete in the tournament, it will last longer too. In fact, the tournament will continue all the way until April 19. Grab your popcorn, folks. That’s more than three weeks of non-stop action.
The way it works is simple. In each regional online league, the top teams will compete against each other in a round-robin stage. And the best of them will duke it out in the playoffs.
Europe and CIS will merge into one big region. It will feature Alliance, B8, Cyber Legacy, Gambit Esports, Gentlemen, HellRaisers, Natus Vincere, Ninjas in Pyjamas, OG, Team Liquid, Team Nigma, Team Secret, Team Spirit, and Virtus.Pro. It is without a doubt the largest region. But it’s also the most stacked. To make things fair, they will compete for a $200,000 prize pool – which is significantly more than other regions.
North America will feature Business Associates, Chaos Esports, CR4ZY, and Evil Geniuses. South-East Asia will feature BOOM Esports, Fnatic, Geek Fam, and Team Adroit. South America will feature Beastcoast, FURIA Esports, NoPing E-Sports, and Thunder Predator. Each of these regions will compete for a smaller $40,000 prize pool.
Last but not least, China will feature EHOME, Invictus Gaming, Newbee, PSG.LGD, Royal Never Give Up and Vici Gaming. Since there are six teams, they will compete for a slightly larger $55,000 prize pool.
Of course, there is more to the Dota Pro Circuit than prize pools. It also rewards teams with points for placements within Valve-sponsored tournaments. As far as we know, ESL One Los Angeles 2020 is still an official Valve tournament. That means it will surely have an impact on qualifications for The International 10. But an official announcement is yet to happen.
