A Sneak Peek into DreamHack Masters Las Vegas

Counter-Strike’s next big event, DreamHack Masters Las Vegas, will host sixteen of the world’s most iconic teams in the second CS:GO event of 2017. The MGM Grand Casino floor will be the battleground for Group Play before only eight teams transition to the MGM Garden Arena for the playoffs. All the action from Las Vegas, Nevada can be viewed on Twitch.

The expectations will be higher than ever for recent ELEAGUE Major winners Astralis, as they aspire to reach the stars in yet another North American event. This will also be the first offline event of 2017 teams absent from the Major including Cloud9, Ninjas in Pyjamas, compLexity Gaming, TyLoo, Renegades and Misfits (former TSM). Notable teams not in attendance include Team Liquid, Immortals, GODSENT, G2 Esports and Team EnVyUs because of their inability to qualify through the North American and European Qualifiers.

DreamHack Las Vegas will also be the first event in which the revamped Inferno will be played professionally – in exchange for the Counter-Strike favorite Dust II. Duncan “Thorin” Shields discussed the prospects of Inferno’s new place in the Active Duty map pool here.

Here’s a rundown of everything you’ll need to know from Feb. 15 to Feb. 19.

Maps Played

• Cache
• Cobblestone
• Inferno
• Mirage
• Nuke
• Overpass
• Train

16 Team Group Stage

• Best-of-One
• Initial Matches (Wednesday)
• Elimination Matches (Thursday)
• Winners’ Matches (Thursday)
• Decider Matches (Friday)

Group A

• Astralis
• North
• OpTic Gaming
• compLexity Gaming

Group B

• Virtus.pro
• Fnatic
• Gambit Esports
• Misfits

Group C

• SK Gaming
• Ninjas in Pyjamas
• Cloud9
• TyLoo

Group D

• FaZe Clan
• Natus Vincere
• Mousesports
• Renegades

8 Team Playoff Stage

• Best-of-Three Single Elimination
• Quarterfinals (Saturday)
• Semifinals (Sunday)
• Grandfinal (Sunday)

TLDR of Recent Roster Changes

• compLexity Gaming: -APE +desi
• Fnatic: -discodoplan, -twist, +flusha, +JW
• FaZe Clan: -aizy, +jkaem (stand-in)
• Mousesports: -chrisJ, +oskar
• North: -RUBINO, +aizy
• Renegades: -Rickeh, +atter
• SK Gaming: -fnx, +felps
• TyLoo: -fancy1, +HZ (stand-in)

Broadcast Talent

• Sue “Smix” Lee (Main Host)
• Alex “Machine” Richardson (Desk Host)
• Pala “Mantrousse” Gilroy Sen (Reporter)
• Anders “Anders” Blume (Caster)
• August “Semmler” Massonnat (Caster)
• Henry “HenryG” Greer (Caster)
• Matthew “Sadokist” Trivett (Caster)
• Janko “YNk” Panovic (Analyst)
• Duncan “Thorin” Shields (Analyst)
• Jason “moses” O’Toole (Analyst)
• Chad “SPUNJ” Burchill (Analyst)

$450,000 Prize Pool Spread

• 1st Place $200,000
• 2nd Place $100,000
• 3rd/4th Place $25,000
• 5th-8th Place $15,000
• 9th-12th Place $5,000
• 13th-16th Place $5,000

Day 1 Matchups

More info regarding DreamHack’s event can be found at their website.