ESL Hamburg to be Valve’s next Dota 2 major, with a $1m prize pool

ESL One Hamburg has been confirmed as Valve’s next official Dota 2 major.

The event has previously been hosted in Frankfurt’s Commerzbank Arena for the last three years, but this year will be at the Barclaycard Arena in Hamburg, inviting the world’s best Dota 2 teams to playoffs on October 28-29, 2017.

With Valve’s new format, the eight competing teams will battle not only for a prize pool of $1m, but also qualifier points for The International 2018.

Two teams will receive direct invites to invite at the group stage, which will occur directly before the event on October 26-27, while the other six teams will need to earn a spot through the qualifiers occuring in six regions: North America, South America, Southeast Asia, China, Europe and the Commonwealth of Independant States.

ESL One Hamburg will be the first major to take place after 2017’s The International tournament, which is currently running now.

“We are extremely proud to see ESL One be named an official Valve Major,” said Ulrich Schulze, SVP of product at ESL, in a statement. “Having ESL One Frankfurt for three years in a row was great learning experience that showed us how passionate the Dota 2 community is. With this year’s world class Dota 2 event being held in a completely new location, we are expecting to mint many new legendary esports moments in Hamburg.”

Tickets are already available, ranging between €39 to €249, with private lounges available for €2.999 for up to five people.