posted by ProxyPL,
As we are less than a month away from the Frankfurt Major and all 16 participating teams are confirmed the group stage format and schedule has been released by ESL. While the Main Event will take place between 16th to the 21st of November the group stage matches will happen during 13th and 14th of November.
MLG WF Champions - Team Secret will be one of the favourites at the upcoming Major.
Image: @TeamSecretDOTA2


Similarly to TI the group stage will take place shortly before the Main Event and will not be available for the audience to see live. For the Frankfurt Major it will happen during the 13th and the 14th of November, and we will be treated with 13 hours of Dota 2 action each day (from 11 AM to midnight). When it comes to the format it will be the same as is used in Global StarCraft II League (GSL).

This means that 16 teams will be divided into four groups of four. Then within each group teams will play something similar to a double elimination bracket with top 2 squads being seeded into the Winners Bracket at the Main Event. The bottom two teams from each group on the other hand will have to start in the Lower Bracket of the ME. This means that the same as at TI 5 no teams will be eliminated during the group stage and everyone will have a chance to play in front of the live audience.

Image explaining GSL style group stage format


With that the Valve sponsored event will move away from huge round robins which were used at latest TIs and will try out a faster pace format with every game mattering immensely. In GSL format every match counts and there are no irrelevant encounters. This only makes the things more exciting.

This format has been used by Major League Gaming in their Dota 2 LAN finals including the just finished World Finals. Thanks to it we saw some nail biting series in the group stages already like when LC eliminated EG back in jD MLG Pro League Season 2.

If you want to attend the first Major you can just head to Festhalle in Frankfurt as the first five days of the event are free. Those who would like to see the Grand Finals live have to buy a €50 final day ticket that can purchase here.

Teams participating in the Frankfurt Major


Do you like this group stage format?



  • ProxyPL
    ProxyPL

    ProxyPL

    Jędrzej Smaruj
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