Every week, we are choosing key esports events that we believe should not be missed. Here’s a rundown of important esports events that’s about to happen in March week 3.
Pinnacle Cup III Begins
The Pinnacle Cup will return in 2022 for its third edition, with a prize fund of $100,000, according to Pinnacle, the business that organises the Pinnacle Winter and Fall Series events. Last year, two esports tournaments were held, with Gambit Esports and Team Spirit emerging victorious.
Format & prize pool
The competition is split into three phases, with the winner receiving $80,000 and the runner-up receiving $20,000. The first stage consists of a single elimination group stage in which 12 teams compete in four groups. Each group's winner advances to the next round.
The event will then proceed to a best-of-three round, in which the four qualifying teams will compete against 12 directly invited teams for one of the eight available playoff slots. The competition concludes with a single-elimination playoff match in a best-of-three format.
Invitations to the first round were also released, with participants ranging from novices to seasoned pros. Bulgarians SKADE, the new Coalesce lineup, and the freshly resurrected MAD Lions squad are among the notable names. The first stage will get off on March 14th, with the initial matchups to be announced later.
Savage, AGO, Unique, Kova, Sangai, Young Ninjas, Tricked, MAD lions, EC Kyiv, SKADE, Coalesce, Into the Breach, Coalesce, 777, and Brazilian representatives Case and Sharks are among the teams competing in the opening round of the Pinnacle Cup III.
Schedule
The group rounds of the event will begin on March 14, 2022. The Swiss stage will begin on March 17, followed by the playoffs on March 28 and the grand final on March 30. The top CS:GO teams will be seeking to emulate Gambit Esports and Team Spirit, who won the Pinnacle Cup last year.
Dota 2 - Dota Pro Circuit Tour 2 Begins
After a month of hiatus and with the conclusion of BTS Pro Series Season 10, Second tour of the Dota 2 - Dota Pro Circuit Regionals is at our doorstep.
DPC EEU Postponed indefinitely
Because of the escalating crisis in Ukraine, DPC EEU has been postponed indefinitely for the meantime.
DPC rules
As in the previous season, Roster Locks are implemented from the start of each Regional League until the end. Rosters will unlock at the conclusion of the Regional League portion of each Tour. However, each roster change will incur a 15% penalty on current points. Substitutes may be used for four out of the seven matches in the Regional League. A team that plays five or more Regional League matches with a substitute will be disqualified and any remaining games will be forfeited. Any team that competes in a major with a substitute will incur a 40% penalty on DPC points earned from that tournament. A team that removes a player after securing a slot at a Major will incur a 20% penalty on DPC Points earned during that event, in addition to the normal player-removal penalty.
At the end of the third tour, the top twelve teams by DPC points are directly qualified for The International 2022. Six remaining spots will be decided through regional qualifiers. All teams that participated in the third tour of the regional leagues have a chance to qualify through the regional qualifiers provided that they do not replace more than two players from their third tour's roster. As in the previous season, there will not be any Open Qualifier. However, all Regional Leagues will have an Open Qualifier tournament for their Division II spots meaning that the third tour's open qualifiers will essentially act as TI Open Qualifiers.
In addition, on 22nd January 2022, it was announced that the second and third place teams from each region's qualifiers will compete in a wildcard LAN event prior to The International to decide the final two qualification spots - thus expanding The International 2022 from 18 to 20 teams.
Format, schedule & prize pool
Each of the six regions will feature a Regional League, divided into Division I and Division II of eight teams each. Each league lasts for six weeks. At the end of each league, the bottom two teams of the Division I are demoted to Division II, while the top two teams of the Division II are promoted to Division I. The bottom two teams of the Division II are eliminated from the league and are replaced with winners of the open qualifier held within their Regional League. All other teams retain their position for the following tour.
Participants
- Six teams from Division I of previous tour
- Two teams from Division II of previous tour
Standings
- Single round-robin
- All matches are Bo3
- 1st through 4th place teams are qualified to ESL One Stockholm 2022 depending on the region
- 1st to 6th place teams remain in current division for the next tour
- Bottom two teams are relegated to Division II for the next tour
Each Regional League tournament has a total prize pool of $280,000 USD per Tour. This prize pool is split among both Divisions ($205,000 USD in Division I, $75,000 USD in Division II).
The prize pool for the tournament is $205,000 USD and 920 Pro Circuit points.
Hearthstone - Masters Tour 2022 Two
Hearthstone Masters Tour Ruins of Alterac, the second Masters Tour of 2022, brings together the best Hearthstone players from around the world to compete for their share of the $250,000 prize purse, and the title of Masters Tour Champion.
Masters Tour 2022 Two begins on Friday, 18th of March. Masters Tour 2022 is the second season of the 2022 Masters Tour series tournaments for Grandmasters 2022
Fans can catch all of the action on YouTube.com/HearthstoneEsports as Blizzard live streams the event on March 18 - March 20, 2022..
All players must qualify to participate in Hearthstone Masters Tour Ruins of Alterac. For more information on qualifying, visit Battlefy.
Hearthstone Masters Tour Ruins of Alterac will be played over three days:
• Day 1 will feature 4 rounds of Swiss pairings.
• Day 2 will feature 4 additional rounds of Swiss pairings.
• Day 3 will feature the Top 16 players advancing into a single-elimination playoff round, followed by the Top 8 players competing for the title of Masters Tour Champion!
All matches will be played online using 4-deck, best of five Conquest format with a ban. This tournament is bring your own device.
Read official rules for this tournament here.
