The DreamHack Showdown Valencia 2019 is off to a good start, with eight CS:GO shooting it out for the top spot. This three-day tournament offers a $100,000 prize pool with the winner getting a large piece of the pie. The champion also gets an invite to the DreamHack Open Rotterdam 2019 in October of this year.
There is one other thing that makes this tournament unique from the others. That is, this is an all-women tournament. This was made possible through a partnership by DreamHack with Esport-Management, and ZOWIE. In a post, DreamHack said that the goal of the Showdown competition is to "increase the visibility of women within this environment and provide equal access to the world of competition compared to their male counterparts, as well as provide inspiration and guidance for all players to build their way into the Pro category." DreamHack added that while it would have been good not to have separate categories, the reality is that women are still not treated equally, even in esports. They hope that this tournament can bridge the gap and reach a point that such "separation" won't be necessary in the future.
For this tournament, the teams are:
- Group A
- Dignitas Female (Invited)
- CPH Flames Female (European Qualifier)
- Demise Female (European Qualifier)
- Orange.Sphynx (ZOWIE Divina Asia Champ.)
- Group B
- Besiktas Esports (Invited)
- Counter Logic Gaming (North American Qualifier)
- FOREVER 21 (North American Qualifier)
- 7PM.fe (ZOWIE Divina Asia Champ.)
For the tournament format, the Group Stage follows a double-elimination format. Opening and Winner's matches are best-of one, while Elimination and Decider matches are besr-of three. The top two teams of each group then move to the Playoffs. The Playoffs are straightforward with a single-elimination bracket. All playoff matches are best-of three.
The Broadcast Talent of the DreamHack Showdown is a mix of excellent talent. Hosting the tournament is Sue "Smix" Lee, with analysis given by Christine "potter" Chi and Melania "Gina" Mylioti. Matches are going to be called by Lauren "Pansy" Scott, Harry "JustHarry" Russell, Sudhen "Bleh" Wahengbam, and Gabriella "LeTigress" Devia-Allen.
As of this writing, the opening matches have begun. Dignitas dominated Orange on the Train map 16-2 in Group A. In Group B, Besiktas defeated 7PM on the Inferno map 16-3. Other matches in Day 1 include:
- CPHF vs Demise
- CLG vs F21
- Group A Winners' Match
