ESL One Hamburg returns this year and promises what could well be Europe's largest Dota 2 festival. Held in October, this year's event is going to allow fans to dive into the Dota 2 world like never before.
While this is the third time an ESL One event is in Hamburg, Hamburg is not the first German city to host a Dota 2 tournament. The first ESL One series for Dota 2 started in Frankfurt back in 2014. That was the year when Chinese teams dominated the Dota 2 scene. However for this tournament, the win went to Evil Geniuses. EG attempted to have back-to-back wins, but Team Secret showed no mercy and was declared champion in 2015. ESL One Frankfurt 2016 was the third and final event held in Frankfurt. This was the year of OG and it came as no surprise that they won the tournament.
ESL One shifted to Hamburg in 2017, and it was the year that Virtus.pro started to get themselves noticed. Despite the presence of stronger teams, VP worked its way to the top and was crowned champion. Last year, the honor again went to Secret, who won the tournament despite dropping to the Lower Bracket early in the Playoffs.
Similar to other ESL One tournaments, the Hamburg 2019 event is expected to host 12 of the world's best Dota 2 teams fighting for a large share of the $300,000 prize pool and to hoist the ESL One Trophy. No teams have been revealed, but eight will receive direct invites with the remaining four needing to go through their region's respective qualifiers. Group Stages are to be held on October 22 to October 24, with the Main Stage live in Barclaycard Arena from October 25 to October 27.
This year's ESL One Hamburg is not just about the Dota 2 tournament, as there are also a number of activities available for everyone all throughout the event, including:
- Airbrush Tattoo
- Artwork Corner
- Balloon Artist
- Chill out Area
- Drawing Workshop
- Hero Gallery
- Matchmaking Point for meet-ups
- White Signing Wall / Dota Landscape Backdrop
ESL One is also organizing a classic cosplay contest with a €3000 prize pool. For fans, signing sessions are also scheduled for all the attending teams and talents.
Tickets are already available and can be bought here.
