First NA Open Qualifier announced for $3.4m circuit

After announcing the Champion of Champions Tour circuit in June of this year, tournament sponsor GRID has announced the dates for the open qualifiers for four online events. The open qualifier for the first online series is set to start in a matter of days, on August 27th.

GRID has previously been involved in a number of online events, including the Pinnacle Series online cups in Europe and the upcoming LAN Sweet LAN set to be played in early 2023 in Belgrade, Serbia. The CCT circuit lays out a number of online events taking place in various regions around the world, leading to various studio LANs, eventually culminating in a global LAN final in January of 2024.

Between the online events, the regional studio LANs, and the global LAN final, $3.4 million in prize money will be up for grabs. There will be eight total online events in the CCT circuit held in North America, with each having a prize pool of $25,000. The upcoming open qualifiers, including the one which begins next week, will provide four spots for the online series, while another twelve will receive direct invitations to the event's Play-in stage. Ultimately, four teams will move on from the Play-ins to the Group Stage, joined by twelve more invited squads. Eight teams from the Group Stage will qualify for playoffs, where they will then compete for the lion's share of the $25,000 prize pool.

Those interested in participating in the first open qualifier, beginning August 27th, can do so here. You can also find a list of the dates for the three announced open qualifiers for later this year and early next year here.