STOCKHOLM — The DreamHack Masters Spring tournament will begin online tomorrow, Tuesday, May 19, 2020, and will feature 32 of the best Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) teams in the world competing for a share of the $300,000 prize pool. The tournament was originally scheduled to be held during DreamHack Summer in Jönköping, Sweden.
“We’re very excited to bring this online format for DreamHack Masters Spring. We know not being able to compete on LAN is unfortunate, but we believe the health and safety of the players and staff had to be our priority during this difficult time around the world,” said DreamHack Chief Product Officer Michael Van Driel. “We’ve developed a structure to support teams, players, and fans around the world, and we are looking forward to this great competition. Everyone will see that esports has been quick to adapt and find solutions for this new reality, while still offering an exceptional experience for players and fans.”
Participating teams:
- Europe — Astralis, Fnatic, Natus Vincere, mousesports, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Vitality, ENCE, BIG, North, G2 Esports, FaZe Clan, Complexity, MAD Lions, Complexity, Heroic,Godsent, Team Spirit
- Astralis, Fnatic, Natus Vincere, and mousesports are the top 4 listed on the prestigious HLTV world ranking (in that order). They are now divided into four different groups, heading into the tournament. Astralis, Fnatic, and Natus Vincere have all held the number one spot in the recent months, making for an epic battle for both the DreamHack Masters title, and to claim the number one spot.
- North America —Team Liquid, Evil Geniuses, Furia, 100 Thieves, MIBR, Gen.G, Cloud9, Chaos EC
- Team Liquid is the highest-ranked North American team (No. 5 on HLTV ranking), with Evil Geniuses close behind them (No. 8 on HLTV ranking). These two North American teams are chased by the Brazilians of Furia, currently ranked at number 9. And be sure not to forget about Gen.G — they won DreamHack Open Anaheim, beating Furia in the grand final earlier this year.
- Asia — TyLoo, ViCi Gaming, Lucid Dream, Beyond Esports
- TyLoo are real veterans when it comes to DreamHack Masters, as this will be their seventh time participating. Ranked No. 1 in China, they will surely be hunted by their countrymen of ViCi Gaming, in addition to Thailand’s highest ranked team, Lucid Dream, as well as Beyond Esports.
- Oceania — Renegades, Order, Avant Gaming, Chiefs ESC
- This will be a battle between four of the top six teams in the region, with Renegades being the highest-ranked competitor in this region (No. 2). Renegades are the favorites and the team was seen at DreamHack Open Leipzig in late January, finishing second after the home team BIG.
DreamHack Masters Spring will be split into two time periods:
- May 19-30 — The group stage of the regional championships in Europe and North America will simultaneously; the playoffs will take place June 8-14.
- June 2-7 — The other two regional championships, Asia and Oceania, will also run simultaneously.
The total prize pool of $300,000 will be split between the four regions as follows:
- $160,000 — Europe
- $100,000 — North America
- $20,000 — Asia
- $20,000 — Oceania
DreamHack Masters Spring is a part of the ESL Pro Tour, and the last tournament awarding points towards the next Masters Championship, ESL One Cologne.
Detailed information such as tournament format and participating teams are available on dreamhack.com/masters.
