CS:GO DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018 starts this week
Counter Strike Global Offensive players prepare for one of the biggest events of 2018 as DreamHack will host its first flagship tournament in Stockholm. The competition will have a prize pool of $250,000 and it is an important milestone in the Intel Grand Slam season. 16 teams will compete for the money and the points, with many of them invited directly. Some of the best commentators are expected to cover the games in real-time in English and Norwegian.
DreamHack Masters Stockholm 2018 Format and Prizes
The group stage starts on August 29 and will conclude three days later at the end of the month. During this phase of the competition, the matches are played in a best of one series. The 16 teams are split into four identical groups of four teams each and the top two squads from each group will advance to the playoffs. In order to mitigate their role luck plays in deciding the outcome, the winners, elimination and decider matches will be played in a best-of-three format.
The playoffs will be played on September 1 and September 2, in a single elimination bracket. Up to three games will be played by the teams who advance from the quarterfinals. The semifinals as well as the grand final will also be played in a best-of-three series and the winners will be unveiled on Sunday night. The winning team will receive $100,000, while the runners up will collect $50,000. The next two squads will get $22,000 each and smaller amounts will be awarded to the teams who finish inside top 16.
No Team has Won Two DreamHack Events
Astralis won the only Counter Strike Global Offensive DreamHack event this year, in Marseille back in April. They received $100,000 for defeating Natus Vincere, the team who also lost the first DreamHack event in Malmo in 2016. Back then, it was Ninjas in Pyjamas that claimed the first prize in a highly contested final. Astralis are regarded as the main favorites to prevail in Stockholm, mostly because of their impeccable track record this year.
G2 Esports won the event exactly one year ago, also in Malmo, but they won’t pose any threat in 2018. That’s because they won’t be among the teams who were invited for the CS:GO DreamHack event and they didn’t qualify either. On the other hand, the team they defeated in 2017 is in the same group as Astralis; North remain a serious contender and are well capable of causing a major upset in Group A. The finalists of the first DreamHack edition are the main favourites to advance from Group B.
Virtus.pro remain the most successful teams in the DreamHack series, in spite of winning a single event in February 2015. They prevailed in Las Vegas at the expense of SK Gaming and won the biggest payouts in the history of the DreamHack Masters. For their victory over the South Korean opponents, they collected $200,000. Unfortunately for their fans, neither them nor SK Gaming will play in Stockholm.
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