Esports World Cup debuts peculiar format
The Esports World Cup, set to take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this summer, has finally revealed the format for the CS2 event. The spiritual successor to Gamers8 is split into three stages, Stage 1, Resurrection, and Playoffs.
Before getting to Stage 1 teams will need to qualify or, in particular cases, be invited. Spirit have already been invited after winning IEM Katowice. The following invites will be sent out to the Major winners, the #1 ranked teams from Europe, North America, and South America, as well as the remaining four best-ranked teams in the world. There will also be six qualifiers, one for each of the following regions, EU, NA, SA, Asia, and Oceania, and one final one for a Regional Hero spot, which attributes a slot directly to the Resurrection stage.
Stage 1 will feature 14 teams, all invited and qualified except the Regional Hero. This stage will see only seven BO3 series, one for each team. The BO3 winners will advance to the Playoffs, while the losers will go down to the Resurrection bracket.
The seven losers will be joined by the Regional Hero in a single-elimination BO1 bracket, where only one team will advance to the Playoffs.
The Playoffs will see the seven winners of the Stage 1 BO3 series and the Resurrected team compete in a single-elimination BO3 bracket.
The Esports World Cup should not be mistaken for the IESF World Esports Championship, although both will be held in the human rights violations record-breaking country of Saudi Arabia.
Qualifiers for North American teams will begin on April 16th and sign-ups are already open.
Dates and prize pool for the main event are still yet to be revealed.
