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ESL One is making its debut on the West Coast in partnership with Valve next year. ESL One Los Angeles 2020 is bringing a Dota Pro Circuit Major back to North America for the first time since the format’s inception in 2017.
There have been several Minor tournaments held in the U.S. since then, such as Dota Summit 11 at the start of November, but this partnership is bringing the production of ESL and Valve together to create what will essentially be a Super Major in one of the esports hubs of the world.
“Los Angeles is known for world class entertainment and that is exactly what we aim to deliver with the LA Major,” said Ulrich Schulze, ESL’s senior vice president of product. “We are finally bringing our ESL Dota 2 flagship competition to the US West Coast for the first time and we are proud to deliver world-class Dota 2 action to the local community.”
Since this is a DPC Major, there will be 16 teams competing at the event. Fifteen of those teams will make it in through the regional qualifiers while the final spot will be reserved for the winner of the unannounced Minor tournament that will run from March 3 to 8.
The regional qualifiers for the event will begin on Feb. 9, just two weeks after the second Major of the season, DreamLeague Season 13, will conclude.
As usual, the prize pool for the Major is set at $1 million and there are 15,000 DPC points up for grabs, too. Since it’s the third big DPC event, this could become the turning point of the season for many teams, just like DreamLeague Season 11 was for Vici Gaming last season.
In typical Major fashion, the group stage will take place away from the main venue. Tickets for the main event will go on sale Nov. 21 on the official ESL event page.
The last time a Dota Major was held in the U.S. was The Boston Major and OG dominated that event. And we could see that happen again when ESL One Los Angeles comes to the Shrine Auditorium from March 20 to 22.
Published: Nov 19, 2019 03:39 pm