The ESL One Frankfurt 2016 will be the tournament to complete ESL’s promise of paying $1,000,000 in Dota 2 prize money in a period of 12 months. This $250,000 tournament will feature 8 teams and it will take place in Germany within less of a week after the Manila Major, during the month of June. Even though its prize pool isn’t even close to a Major or International tournament, it’s well-known as one of the most entertaining and competitive tournaments of the year. ESL is an expert eSport group that’s been bringing these tournaments since eSports started. They’re known for their production quality and good organization, which makes this tournament one of the most waited of the year.
ESL One Frankfurt 2016 | Facts:
- Date: 06/17/ – 05/19/2016
- Location: Commerzbank-Arena. Frankfurt, Germany.
- Prize Pool: $250,000
- Format: Online Qualifiers – Offline Playoffs
- 8 teams
- Ticketing information available here.
- You can watch the official stream here.
Group Stage & Playoffs
The Group Stage consists of two groups of four. Each one will play in a double-elimination bracket where the top 2 teams will qualify for the Playoffs. Only 4 teams will be able to make it out of this stage.
| GROUP A | Standings |
||
| 1. |  Vega Squadron |
2-0 |
| 2. |  Team Liquid |
2-1 |
| 3. |  Alliance |
1-2 |
| 4. |  Fnatic |
0-2 |
| Match Schedule / Results | ||
| GROUP B | Standings |
||
| 1. |  OG |
2-0 |
| 2. |  Natus Vincere |
2-1 |
| 3. |  compLexity |
1-2 |
| 4. |  Virtus.pro |
0-2 |
| Match Schedule / Results | ||
Finally, the Playoffs will run as a single-elimination bracket. The Grand Final will be a best-of-five, the rest of the games are best-of-three.
Schedule & Results
Group A
Match #1: Team Liquid vs. Vega Squadron 1 : 2
Start Time: June 17th, 01:30 AM PDT / 04:30 AM EDT / 10:30 CEST
Match #2: Alliance vs. Fnatic 2 : 1
Start Time: June 17th, 01:30 AM PDT / 04:30 AM EDT / 10:30 CEST
Match #3: Vega Squadron vs. Alliance 2 : 1
Start Time: June 17th, 08:00 AM PDT / 11:00 AM EDT / 17:00 CEST
Match #4: Team Liquid vs. Fnatic 2 : 0
Start Time: June 18th, 01:30 AM PDT / 04:30 AM EDT / 10:30 CEST
Match #5: Alliance vs. Team Liquid 0 : 2
Start Time: June 18th, 08:00 AM PDT / 11:00 AM EDT / 17:00 CEST
Group B
Match #1: OG vs. Na’Vi 2 : 0
Start Time: June 17th, 04:45 AM PDT / 07:45 AM EDT / 13:45 CEST
Match #2: compLexity vs. Virtus.pro 2 : 1
Start Time: June 17th, 04:45 AM PDT / 07:45 AM EDT / 13:45 CEST
Match #3: OG vs. compLexity 2 : 0
Start Time: June 17th, 11:15 AM PDT / 02:15 PM EDT / 20:15 CEST
Match #4: Na’Vi vs. Virtus.pro 2 : 1
Start Time: June 18th, 04:45 AM PDT / 07:45 AM EDT / 13:45 CEST
Match #5: compLexity vs. Na’Vi 0 : 2
Start Time: June 18th, 11:45 AM PDT / 02:45 PM EDT / 20:45 CEST
Semi Finals
Semifinal #1: Vega Squadron vs. Na’Vi 0 : 2
Start Time: June 19th, 01:30 AM PDT / 04:30 AM EDT / 10:30 CEST
Semifinal #2: OG vs. Team Liquid 2 : 1
Start Time: June 19th, 04:45 AM PDT / 07:45 AM EDT / 13:45 CEST
Grand Final
Grand Final: OG vs. Na’Vi 3 : 0
Start Time: June 19th, 08:45 AM PDT / 11:45 AM EDT / 17:45 CEST
ESL Frankfurt 2016 Betting Odds
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ESL Frankfurt 2016 | Invited Dota 2Teams:
Most tournaments like to cover half its spots with direct invites. However, ESL doesn’t give out many invites. Just like past year, they gave 3 invites and ran qualifications for the rest of the spots. These invites were given to other premium tournament winners.
Alliance was the first team to get invited. It was revealed in April 2016 that they were the first team to attend ESL One Frankfurt 2016 thanks to their victories in WCA 2015 and Star Ladder Season 13 & i-League Season 4.
A couple of days later, OG was revealed as the second invited team. The reason was their performance in the first Major tournament, The Frankfurt Major 2015 held in November 2015. Their impressive run from starting in the Lower Bracket to taking the entire tournament was something never seen before, so ESL decided to invite them despite their 7th-8th place in the Shanghai Major 2016.
Lastly, the last invite went to the Shanghai Major 2016 vice champions, Team Liquid. Even though Team Secret was the winner in that tournament, their roster change just hours later was probably enough for ESL not to consider them. Team Liquid has shown impressive performance in the tournaments following the Shanghai Major; they secured a second place in ESL One Manila and won EPICENTER. Right now they stand as one of the ESL One Frankurt 2016 favorites.
ESL One Frankfurt 2016 | Qualifiers:
The Qualifiers for ESL One Frankfurt 2016 were run as single-elimination brackets, except the European Qualifier, which was a double-elimination bracket where the top 2 teams qualified for the tournament.
These are all the teams that made it:
- Americas: complexity
- China:
LGD Gaming (The original winner of the Chinese qualifier, LGD Gaming, were unable to attend due to health reasons. They were replaced by Virtus.pro) - Europe: Na’Vi, Vega Squadron
- SEA: Fnatic
Even though there was an Open Qualifier where amateur teams of each region were given the opportunity to participate in the Regionals, there was an important advantage given to Tier 1 teams. While Tier 2 and the Open Bracket teams had to start from Round 1, Tier 1 teams started from the Quarter Finals. Even though some amateur teams made it as far as round 12 and up to the Quarter Finals, Tier 1 teams ended taking the Regionals.
Main Event and Schedule
This event will be a two-phase tournament, as it’s usual. First there will be a Group Stage where the bottom 4 teams will be eliminated; the rest will go to the Playoffs.
Games will start at 10:30 CEST for each day:
- Group A will play on Friday June 17
- Group B will play on Saturday June 18
- The Playoffs will be held the 19th of June.