Tournament organizer DreamHack has released more details on how the March open matches will play out. The $100,000 prize pool will be split between teams from North and South America. The competition will take place from March 10-14, and registration for qualifying games is open now.
Most of the prize money ($70,000) will be won by North American teams. Six of them will receive invitations based on ESL world rankings, while two more will earn spots in the tournament based on the results of closed qualification matches. The eight teams will then be divided into two groups. Based on the results of the group selection, four of them will advance to the playoffs, which will culminate in a five-card final.
In South America, the tournament will follow a slightly different format due to the smaller number of participants. Four teams will compete for the prize, of which two will receive direct invitations and two will qualify. Open qualifying matches will be held from February 18 to 21, and a few days after that, the second round of qualifying will also take place.
In addition to cash prizes, the winners of both tournaments will receive points in the ESL Pro Tour. In North America, the winner will receive 100 points and in South – 60 points.