What’s on this week? Ft The International 2019

‘What’s on this week?’ is ESI’s weekly feature letting you know just what’s going on in the wonderful world of esports in the next seven days. Each week, ESI picks a selection of events and provides a brief overview of what’s going down, where it’s taking place, and how you can watch it.

A double-header of big events this week. Starting in China, we focus on The International – which offers the largest prize pool in esports history. Next up, we head to the Call of Duty World League Championship as the long season comes to a close. Lastly, we check in with the LEC as it heads into its final weeks before the finals in Greece.

The International 2019

It’s that time again! This week, we jump into the world of Dota 2 as we head to Shanghai for the The International 2019. Played out over the course of the next two weeks, the ground-breaking event will see the best of the best compete for the largest prize pool in esports history – as of publishing, it sits at $32.8 million (£27 million).

The 18 teams in attendance will be divided up into two groups in a round-robin best-of-two format. The top four teams will advance to the upper bracket with the bottom four being eliminated from the competiton. The knockout stage will move to a best-of-three format with the grand final utilising a best-of-five series.

The full list of teams, in DPC ranking order, is as follows: Team Secret, Virtus.pro, Vici Gaming, Evil Geniuses, Team Liquid, PSG.LGD, Fnatic, Ninjas in Pyjamas, TNC Predator, OG, Alliance, and Keen Gaming. Six qualified teams will also join the above on the quest to claim the crown.

Stream: Dota2TI
Location: Shanghai, China
Date: 15–25th August
Organiser: Valve
Prize pool: $32.8 million (£27 million)

Call of Duty World League Championship

We’ve followed the 2019 season of the CWL Pro League since the start— this week we head into the final event of the season, Call of Duty World League Championship. 16 teams from CWL Pro League and 16 from the CWL Amateur Finals come together to compete for the last time before franchising is implemented.

The format sees eight groups play best-of-five round robins; only the the top two sides in each group will move forward. The knockout stage will retain the best-of-five format while it moves into a double-elimination bracket. The event has a $2 million total prize pool, the largest ever for a Call of Duty tournament.

Stream: Call of Duty
Location: Columbus, USA
Date: 14–18th August
Sponsors: ASUS, SCUG Gaming, ASTRO Gaming, MTN DEW AMP GAME FUEL, TCL
Organiser: Activision Blizzard
Prize pool: $2 million (£1.6 million)

LEC Summer Split Week 9

We head back to the LEC this week as G2 Esports keep pace at the top with a 14-2 record. Fnatic has been trying its best to apply pressure, though their loss to G2 Esports this past weekend set them back. Splyce is right alongside Fnatic in joint-second place – a surprise loss to Excel Esports saw them miss out on the opportunity to leapfrog Fnatic. It’s sad news for some at the bottom of the table as the play-off dreams of both Excel Esports and Misfits are over for this split.

Over the course of the split, the LEC sees 10 teams battle it out in a double round-robin best-of-one format with the top six teams advancing to the playoffs. The top three sides from the playoffs will then go to Worlds as European representatives.

Stream: Riot Games
Location: Berlin, Germany
Date: 16–17th August
Sponsors: Kia, Alienware, DXRacer, Foot Locker, Logitech G, Shell, Warner Music, Tchibo, Beko, Red Bull, GoDaddy
Organiser: Riot Games
Prize pool: €200,000 (£179,855.76)

That’s a wrap on this week’s picks, be sure to check back next week for another edition of the ‘What’s on this week?’

We want to feature at least one smaller event each week on the ESI weekly picks. If you want an event included in What’s on this week? in a future edition, send an email to [email protected].

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