ESL One Katowice 2019 is almost here, giving fans another opportnity to cheer on their favorite Dota 2 teams. This will be the first of three ESL One Dota 2 tournaments slated for 2019. The tournament begins on February 19 and ends on February 24. The winner will get a lion's share of the $300,000 prize pool. Unlike the same tournament a year ago, this one will not include DPC points. Even without the DPC points and a lower prize pool, 12 teams will compete in Poland.
Teams are divided into two groups with the Group Stage following a best of two round robin format. Battling it out in the first group are For the Dream, Forward Gaming, Gambit Esports, Mineski, OG, and Team Secret. The second group will have Alliance, Chaos Esports Club, compLexity Gaming, Fnatic, Ninjas in Pyjamas, and Team Aster. The top two teams move to the upper bracket with the third and fourth placed teams proceeding to the lower bracket. The bottom two teams are eliminated from the tournament.
Playoffs will be in front of a live audience and follow a double elimination rule. All games in the playoffs with be best of three except the Grand Finals, which will have a best of five format.
??⚙️ These are your Groups for #ESLOne Katowice 2019!
— ESL Dota2 (@ESLDota2) February 13, 2019
Only the top 4 teams of each will progress to the playoffs. Who will make it and who will be going home?https://t.co/GqzYOC4zZ3 pic.twitter.com/2wGmqDN0sZ
Fans can also expect top-level production with the likes of Eri "Eri" Neeman taking the stage as host and Paul "Redeye" Chaloner as desk host. Jorien "Sheever" van der Heijden will also be on hand to give the latest updates on the tournament. Commentators included Owen "ODPixel" Davies and Toby "Tobiwan" Dawson. Match reviews are courtesy of analysts like Kevin "Purge" Godec and Alan "Nahaz" Bester.
An added layer of excitement comes from the recent release of Patch 7.21b. The tournament will likely boil down to which team is able to make the most of the changes in the patch. This gives Team Secret a great advantage as they have momentum on their side by winning the recently concluded Chongqing Major. Team captain Clement “Puppey” Ivanov is also known to be able to adapt rather quickly to the meta. It will also be interesting to look at how OG fares in this tournament with midlaner Anathan “ana” Pham taking an extended break and Per Anders Olsson "Pajkatt" Lille leaving the team back in January 2019.
Follow along with all the action at ESL One Katowice 2019 on the official ESL Dota 2 Twitch channel.
