Team Secret
Fnatic
OG
Chaos
Intel are proud to present the second edition of the Dota 2 tournament that will be held in Poland, the ESL One Katowice. Towers will rise and some will fall at the premier match that will kick off from the 19th February until the 24th February 2019. Gaming fans will get to see the world’s best twelve esports teams battling it out for their share from a prize pool of $300K at the Spodek Arena.
February will be a busy city for all gaming fans that spectate esports games like Dota 2 at the ESL One Katowice 2019 and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive at the IEM Katowice that will also take place. Better yet, you will get to experience the gaming atmosphere, where you have the opportunity to meet and greet professional players and their teams at signing sessions.
Gaming tournaments like ESL One Katowice 2019 will host some of the creative and passionate cosplayers who like to show off their costumes in front of thousands of dota fans. These artists come from all over the world to be present at the event in Katowice in celebration of all that is esports.
Eight professional teams got to receive a direct invitation to participate in the Group Stages. These units include:
- Alliance
- Team Aster
- Fnatic
- Forward Gaming
- Ninjas in Pyjamas
- Team OG
- PaiN Gaming
Three out of four remaining squads acquired their spot through open qualifier matches to represent different regions. These also include:
- Gambit Esports for Europe
- Complexity for North America
- TNC Predator for Southeast Asia
- China qualifier still has to be announced
ESL One Katowice 2019 - Dota 2 Tournament Format
The Group stage is set to kick off from the 19th February until 21st February. There will be two groups of six squads each, all competing in a best-of-two round-robin group stage whilst the bottom two units will be eliminated.
The main event featuring the playoffs will be played in front of a live audience in the Spodek Arena from the 22nd February until the 24th February. At this stage, all games will be played in a best-of-three series. The top two teams from each group stage will start in the Upper Brackets while the third and fourth ranking teams will start in the Lower brackets. In every round there will be squads that will be eliminated while other units progress on towards the final matches.
The top four teams that reach the Upper and Lower Bracket Finals will get to battle it out in the hopes of advancing to the next deciding match. The best two units will face each other in the Grand Finals, where the game will be a best-of-five series and the winner takes home the first prize of a sensational $125K.
Top Teams at ESL One Katowice 2019
Gambit Gaming
The Russian squad, Gambit have managed to win over Team Spirit in the Grand Finals of the ESL One Katowice European qualifier. Their latest participation in a premier tournament was The Kuala Lumpur Major 2018. Going through their past results, Gambit generally take part in the qualifying matches but rarely have the opportunity to take part in major or premier events. Acquiring a spot at a premier match is a big accomplishment, they will need to prepare themselves to beat the likes of the Ninjas in Pyjamas and Forward Gaming?
Forward Gaming
Another American team worth a mention is Forward Gaming, an esports company that was recently founded last September 2018. Two star players that from part of active roster are UNiVeRsE and Resolut1on who have recently played under VGJ.Storm previously. Other tournaments that the dota unit have participated include the Kuala Lumpur Major and at ESL One Hamburg 2018. Going into ESL One Katowice, will Forward Gaming improve their skills to overtake teams like Pain Gaming or TNC Predator?
Complexity Gaming
The American players of Complexity managed to secure their place for the Katowice event outplaying J.Storm with a score of 3-1 in the North American qualifiers. Over the past few months, the dota squad have acquired the gaming experience to improve in their gaming skills at Major and premier events. These include DreamLeague Season 10 and EPICENTER XL, The Bucharest Major and many more. How do you think Complexity gaming will fare in the upcoming matches?
Fnatic
The Fnatic dota players beat TNC Predator to acquire the direct invitation to ESL One Katowice. Over the past few months, Fnatic have shown their worth many times in qualifier matches and have surprised worldwide audiences at the finishing in second place at PVP Esports Championship, Dota Summit 9, DreamLeague Season 9. Other accomplishments for Fnatic also include ESL One Birmingham 2018 and Katowice 2018 ranking in fourth place. This time around will Fnatic break new gaming records?
Team OG
The Europeans of Team OG have had an unforgettable achievement of winning The International 2018. On reaching the Grand Finals, the squad beat PSG.LGD with a close record 3-2. In the first two months, OG placed in the top four rankings in competitions, Captains Draft 4.0 and Galaxy Battles II: Emerging Worlds. Their performance was good through the year especially qualifiers. However in the major events, they would place between 5th to 13th place. Competing in the ESL One Katowice will OG take the tournament title?
Team Secret
At the moment, Team Secret are the top dota 2 team in the world according to Gosugamers. In 2018, The squad took the esports titles of the DreamLeague Season 9 and at PVP Esports Championship beating Fnatic in both tournaments. At the Kuala Lumpur Major, the dota unit managed to reach the grand finals but lost to Virtus.Pro to finish in second place. The ESL One Hamburg 2018 major, Secret defeated Vici Gaming with a record of 3-2 taking home the first prize of $125K. Going into the ESL One Katowice 2019, will Secret take the esports title?
