The ECS Season 8 Finals are just weeks away, and the groups and schedule for the 4-day $500,000 event have been determined. Read on for the groups, format explainer, round one matchups, and event schedule.
The Europe representatives will be Astralis, NiP, AVANGAR and Fnatic, while Team Liquid, Sharks, Evil Geniuses and MIBR will be the face of North America. All teams will compete in two intense double-elimination groups with the top two teams from each group advancing to the playoffs. The playoffs will then see the top teams battle it out in a single-elimination Best of Three bracket with the strongest team taking home the trophy.
All top four teams in the HLTV rankings, Astralis (1st), Evil Geniuses (2nd), Fnatic (3rd) and Team Liquid (4th), as well as NiP (8th) and AVANGAR (9th) will face off.
The Groups
| Group A | Group B |
| AVANGAR | Sharks Esports |
| Evil Geniuses | Astralis |
| Team Liquid | Fnatic |
| NiP | MIBR |
How the groups were determined
AVANGAR and Sharks Esports Team were determined as A1 and B1 respectively as they were the first teams to qualify. They then took turns selecting the teams that should be in the opposite groups:
- A1(AVANGAR) selects B2 (Astralis)
- B1 (Sharks) selects A2 (Evil Geniuses)
- B2 (Astralis) selects A3 (Team Liquid)
- A2 (Evil Geniuses) selects B3 (Fnatic)
- B3 (Fnatic) selects A4 (NiP)
- B4 (MIBR) remaining
ECS Season 8 Finals Schedule
| Time | Day 1 (Nov 28) |
| 9am CT, 3pm GMT, 4pm CET | AVANGAR vs. EG (Gr A semi 1 – BO1) |
| 10:30am CT, 4:30pm GMT, 5:30pm CET | NiP vs. TL (Gr A semi 2 – BO1) |
| Noon CT, 6pm GMT, 7pm CET | Astralis vs. Sharks (Gr B semi 1 – BO1) |
| 1:30pm CT, 7:30pm GMT, 8:30pm CET | Fnatic vs. MIBR (Gr B semi 2 – BO1) |
| 3pm CT, 9pm GMT, 10pm CET | Gr A UB Final – BO3 |
| 6pm CT, midnight GMT, 1am CET | Gr B UB Final – BO3 |
| Time | Day 2 (Nov 29) |
| 9am CT, 3pm GMT, 4pm CET | Gr A LB R1 – BO3 |
| Noon CT, 6pm GMT, 7pm CET | Gr B LB R1 – BO3 |
| 3pm CT, 9pm GMT, 10pm CET | Gr A LB R2 – BO3 |
| 6pm CT, midnight GMT, 1am CET | Gr B LB R2 – BO3 |
| Time | Day 3 (Nov 30) |
| Noon CT, 6pm GMT, 7pm CET | Playoffs Semi #1 – BO3 |
| 3pm CT, 9pm GMT, 10pm CET | Playoffs Semi #2 – BO3 |
| Time | Day 4 (Dec 1) |
| Noon CT, 6pm GMT, 7pm CET | Showmatch |
| 3pm CT, 9pm GMT, 10pm CET | Grand Final – BO3 |
We’ve also partnered with Caffeine to bring the return of ‘ECS After Dark,’ the exciting overtime show broadcast exclusively on the platform.
The ECS Finals are taking place live at the Esports Stadium Arlington in Texas on Nov 30th – Dec 1st. Tickets are available in Premium, GA, & Student price brackets. Visit our ticketing page for more information.
Stay tuned for more information on the ECS Finals through the @ECS Twitter