February eSports Overview

[Jarrod]

February eSports Overview

By: Xiao Suji

February, the shortest month of the year and the month of love......for eSports! We have some big events coming in hot this month from FIFA, Rainbow6, Dragon Ball Fighter Z, Call of Duty, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Clash Royale, Brawl Stars, Hearthstone, League of Legends, Starcraft II and Dota2! Let's break it down.

 

FIFA: So, to kick off our month of eSports, is the FIFA eClub World Cup which will be held in Milan, Italy on Feb 7th-9th. It will feature 22 teams battling it out on a unique 1v1 and 2v2 format for a total of 100,000 USD, as well as Global Series points on the Road to the FIFA eWorld Cup! So, will Fnatic maintain their lead? Or will FaZe Clan and Movistar Riders who are both hot on their heels steal their spot? We have yet to find out.

RAINBOW 6: Happening also on the same week is the fourth edition of the Six Invitational which will take place in Laval, in the greater Montreal area. Offline group stage will start on Feb. 7th-9th, and on Feb. 11th-12th the first two days of offline playoffs take place. 16 teams will be competing for a new record prize pool cap of $3,000,000 on a double elimination format. Will team Empire, the current number 1 team, take this home? Or will it be another chip added for Team Liquid's achievement? One thing's for sure, this is going to be a very fun week of Rainbow 6.

DRAGON BALL Z: Calling all fans of Dragon Ball Z! We are going to have the World Finals of Dragon Ball Z Fighter held in Paris on Feb. 8th to 9th. On the first day, last chance qualifiers will be held featuring a double elimination format to narrow it down to the top 16 which will then be held later in the day in a round robin format. The following day, the top eight will compete on a double elimination format with a prize pool of 80,000 USD.

CALL OF DUTY: Call of Duty fans will have a treat this February, for it will be a month-long event for Call of Duty League 2020. It will feature a two double-elimination format for the group stage, and a single elimination for the bracket stage. 8 teams will battle it out for CDL Points and teams will earn 10 CDL points for every match won. Call of Duty League Week 2 will be held on Feb. 8th -9th, CDL Toronto Ultra week 7 will be held on Feb. 21st-22nd, Call of Duty League week 3 will be held on Feb 22-23, and Call of Duty League week 4 is held on Feb. 29th to the first of March. Respond to the call of duty and be sure to support your favorite teams for this is an adrenaline filled month of shooting, search and destroy, domination and hardpoint.

CS:GO: Counter Strike: Global Offensive action returns with another installment in Dreamhack Anaheim which will be held on Feb 21st- Feb 23rd It will feature 8 teams competing for a prize pool of 100,000 USD and a spot in Dreamhack Masters in Jönköping. Which team will you place your bets on? EZ for ENCE? Or will the hot Russian squad of forZe take this in the bag? Let's just wait and see.

RED BULL M.E.O: Mobile game enthusiasts, be it just a casual player or die-hard fans, February has a treat for you. Red Bull M.E.O. Finals is to be held on the 22nd of February with mobile games like Clash Royale, Brawl Stars, and Hearthstone. Qualifiers were held for 30 countries with the top players qualified for the finals to be held in an "undisclosed location".

LEAGUE OF LEGENDS: A month long of League of Legends is here with us for the League of Legends European Championship. Teams will be battling it out on a double round robin where all teams play 18 matches in the group stage and all matches are Bo1, top 6 teams qualifies for the playoffs where in playoffs, all matches are played in Bo5. Whoever survives this bloodbath will win a share in the total prize pool of 200,000 EUR ($224,698 USD) while earning a spot in the Mid-Season Invitational 2020.

STARCRAFT II/CS:GO: Esports return home at IEM Katowice on Feb. 25th to March 1st where Starcraft II and Counter Strike: Global Offensive action awaits. In CS:GO, this tournament is classified as an S-Tier event where 16 teams will be battling it out for the prize pool of 500,000 USD and a chance at the 1,000,000 USD Intel Grand Slam where Mousesports, Fnatic, Astralis, Team Liquid, and Evil Geniuses qualify. The group stage will consist of two double-elimination format which are seeded using the ESL CS:GO World Rankings. The initial matches are Bo1 and the following matches are Bo3. Top three teams from each group will advance to the playoffs. In the playoffs, it will consist of a single elimination bracket where the quarter finals and semi-finals are Bo3 and the Grand Finals is a Bo5 bloodbath.

STARCRAFT II: Meanwhile, in the same event, Starcraft II action also takes place. This premier tournament has a prize pool of 400,000 USD where Open Qualifier matches are single-elimination Bo3 until Round of 16. Deciding matches are Bo5 and top 8 advances to the final qualifier. The final qualifier consists of Double-Elimination Bo3, the deciding matches are still Bo5. Qualified players will have to battle it out in a round of 76 which will be held offline in the ESL Arena where 64 players are divided into 4 double-elimination brackets. The group stage commences in round of 24, where four groups of six players play it out in a round robin Bo3 matches. Whoever emerges at the top will win a share of the 400,000 USD prize pool after overcoming their opponent in a best of 7 Grand Finals.

DOTA 2: DOTA2, road to international resumes with another major Tug of War: Mad Moon to be held on Feb. 19th up to the 23rd. It will be held in Kyiv, where 8 teams participate and try to win home 300,000 USD. Two GSL groups of four teams each in the group stage where top teams from each group advance to the upper bracket in the playoffs, 2nd and 3rd place teams advance to lower bracket while the bottom teams are eliminated. The playoffs will be held in a double-elimination bracket where all games are Bo3 and the grand finals are to be fought in a Bo5.

 

I can't believe that the year is just starting, there's a lot of eSports to watch still a lot more to come. So, don't forget to check out www.stake.com/sports and place your bets on your favorite teams!