The competition will welcome two teams from the ESL Thailand Championship, giving local Thai teams the chance to compete against the best pro teams in Asia
Cologne, July 15, 2020: ESL, the world’s largest esports company, today announced ESL One Thailand 2020 – Online powered by Intel® – an online Dota 2 competition running from August 8th – September 6th that will unite players and fans from around the world. The competition features two divisions – Asia and the Americas – and offers two local Thai teams the chance to progress from the ESL Thailand Championship to compete against the very best professional esports teams in Asia. Teams will compete for an overall prize fund of US$200,000.
The tournament’s Americas division (featuring teams from North and South America) will run from August 8th to August 30th and will feature eight teams that are yet to be announced. Each team will be competing for US$65,000 prize money.
The Asia division will feature teams from South-East-Asia and China and will run from August 20th – September 6th, with teams competing for a share of the US$135,000 prize. To the division’s eight teams that are yet to be revealed, two further teams coming via regional qualifiers will be given the chance to compete in the international competition. The final two additional teams will enter via the dedicated ESL Thailand Championship, a first-of-its-kind initiative in partnership with the Ministry of Tourism & Sports (MoTS) and Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT), making it twelve teams in the Asian division.
“We are very excited to bring some of the world’s best Dota 2 players together for this online competition, which will pave the way for live events in Thailand in the future”, says Ulrich Schulze, SVP Product at ESL. “By hosting the event online we are able to cross borders to unite players and fans even in those challenging times, and we are proud to have collaborated with the Ministry of Tourism & Sports and the Sports Authority of Thailand to provide local Thai players the chance to compete against some of Asia’s best pro Dota 2 teams.”
“ESL is the world’s largest esports company and we knew that they could deliver an event at the highest quality possible. They are also one of the most recognised brands in esports and broadcasts, which gave us confidence in their PR ability to draw in a lot of interest and viewers and thus promoting Thailand as a top tourist destination to viewers around the world” says Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn, Minister of Tourism and Sports of Thailand. “Bringing esports to Thailand does not only grow the local esports environment, but will also attract more and more people to engage with sporting activities that this country offers for tourists worldwide in the future.”
Besides uniting gamers from around the world, ESL One Thailand 2020 – Online will bring fans closer to the players with online broadcast streams. ESL has collaborated with the Ministry of Tourism & Sports (MoTS) and Sports Authority of Thailand (SAT) to include captivating drone footage of Thailand’s picturesque scenery within streams, offering the world a glimpse at all that Thailand has to offer. Broadcast scheduling information will follow.
Competition formats:
The Americas division will be played as a round robin group stage, with all matches adopting the ‘best of three’ format. The top four teams will proceed to double-elimination playoffs, with the finals then adopting a ‘best of five’ game format. Teams will compete for the US$65,000 prize.
The Asia division will feature two groups of six teams, competing in a round robin format with ‘best of three’ matches. The top four teams from each group will proceed to a double-elimination playoff (1st and 2nd of each group go to the upper bracket, 3rd and 4th to the lower bracket), with the grand finals then switching to a ‘best of five’ game format. Each team will compete for a share of the US$135,000 prize money.
More information can be found on esl.gg/thailand and check out Twitter, Facebook and Instagram for the latest news on ESL One Thailand 2020 – Online.
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About ESL
ESL is the world’s largest esports company. Founded in 2000, ESL has been shaping the industry across the most popular video games with numerous online and offline esports competitions. The company operates high profile, branded international leagues and tournaments under the ESL Pro Tour including ESL One, Intel® Extreme Masters, ESL Pro League, and other premier stadium-size tournaments, to more clearly define the path from zero to hero. ESL also produces the ESL National Championships, grassroots amateur cups, and matchmaking systems, creating a world where everybody can be somebody. With offices all over the world, ESL is leading esports innovation on a global scale through the combination of global ESL competitions, amateur leagues, publisher activations, and more. ESL is a part of MTG, the leading international digital entertainment group. eslfaceitgroup.com