DreamHack Spring stands as last chance for EPT points ahead of ESL One Cologne 2021
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Last chance for teams to earn ESL Pro Tour Points
The 16 team tournament is set to begin on the 29th of April spanning across 10 days. With $250,000 on offer and an Intel® Grand Slam contribution awarded to the victor, the Masters level tournament will also beacon as teams LAST chance to earn substantial ESL Pro Tour points ahead of ESL One Cologne 2021.
With 4,300 total EPT points on offer, for many teams their results at DreamHack Masters Spring 2021 will determine whether or not they qualify for the Masters Championship in July. All points earned via DreamHack Masters Spring 2021 will contribute to a teams regional point standings in the qualification to ESL One Cologne 2021 main event and the Play-In stage.
Main event teams and the Play-In stages qualification
While the Top 6 teams within the European and Top 2 teams within the North American regions will directly qualify to the main event of ESL One Cologne 2021 via the ESL Pro Tour point system, a further 16 teams will compete within the Play-In stage where the Top 8 teams of the Play-In stage will advance to the main event.
Additionally it is worth noting the nature of how these 16 slots are offered to teams in order to qualify and compete at the Play-In stage:
- 8 Slots available to the remaining Top 16 teams via regional ESL Pro Tour point standings
- 6 Slots available to the Top 6 ESL World Ranking teams
- 2 Slots available to the champions of ESL National Championships Global Playoffs Spring and ESL Meisterschaft: Spring 2021
You can view the regional ESL Pro Tour Road to Cologne point standings here
Cut-off dates pertaining to ESL One Cologne 2021
The cut-off date for the ESL Pro Tour Road to Cologne standings is the 17th of May, whereas the cut-off for the ESL World Rankings is the 31st of May. At the time of both these dates, we will have confirmed which teams directly qualify to the main event and Play-In stage of ESL One Cologne 2021.
Current scenarios of teams qualifying for both the Play-In Stage and main event of ESL One Cologne 2021
Below we’ve concluded scenarios for specific teams at this stage in their journey to qualifying for both the main event and Play-In stage of ESL One Cologne 2021:
Europe:
- Both Gambit and Virtus.pro are locked in to the Top 16 of ESL One Cologne 2021 main event
- Astralis, Heroic and Natus Vincere are guaranteed a spot at the Play-In stage at minimum. No other teams are guaranteed a spot
- It is worth noting that Astralis, despite losing dev1ce's points, retain their Play-In spot at minimum. It's also correct that as NiP aren't participating in DH Masters Spring, the transfer won't give them any points for Cologne consideration, and their qualification is out of their hands.To illustrate NiP's chances, if compLexity were to make it past Round 1 (upper or lower), Vitality or FaZe placing top 6 would put NiP out of Cologne contention, as would mousesports or BIG placing Top 2.
North America:
- Both FURIA and Team Liquid are locked in to the Top 16 of ESL One Cologne 2021 main event
- No other teams are guaranteed a spot in the Play-Ins, however, in order for Evil Geniuses to miss out on a Play-In spot, both paiN and Extra Salt would have to exceed expectations at DreamHack Masters Spring 2021 with paiN placing Top 6 and Extra Salt placing Top 8
Asia:
- ViCi are locked in at No.1 in the Asia EPT standings, and have therefore guaranteed themselves a spot in the Play-In stage
South America:
- MIBR are locked in at No.1 in the South American EPT standings, and have therefore guaranteed themselves a spot in the Play-In stage
Oceania:
- Renegades are locked in at No.1 in the Oceanic EPT standings, and have therefore guaranteed themselves a spot in the Play-In stage
ESL Pro Tour points will not contribute towards ESL One Cologne 2021 qualification
Ahead of the 16 team, $250,000 and Intel® Grand Slam Masters tournament we would like to make it clear that while the upcoming IEM Summer 2021 tournament will have ESL Pro Tour points on offer, those points will NOT contribute towards the qualification of ESL One Cologne 2021. This decision has been made due to logistical reasons, those being that if we allowed the EPT points earned at this tournament to influence the qualification to ESL One Cologne 2021, it would shuffle the teams attending only a few weeks before attending which would result in a range of travel issues. We are taking all steps necessary to increase the probability that ESL One Cologne 2021 can be a LAN event.
