The 8 best EU and NA teams fight for a place in the finals. BO3 knockout series, 5 weeks of action.
The ECS Open Qualifiers ran from 12–25 August, and gave you the chance to compete alongside the pros. The format was a single elimination BO1 tournament, becoming single elimination BO3 at the quarter-final stage onwards. Each set of qualifiers awarded the winners 2 spots in the Pinnacle Cup qualifying.
Lazarus, The Quest, Team Divine, RGB Esports, Rap Gang, ATK, Oceanus Gaming and Peekers Advantage all qualified from NA, while Se7en Esports, Ambush, Espada, BIG Clan, Team Heretics, BLUEJAYS Sports, Japaleno (Chaos) and m1xx qualified from EU.
16 teams (8 qualified, 8 invited) per region will fight it out in a BO3 Swiss tournament from 10-15 September to determine their Regular Season rankings. The Buccholz rankings from this tournament will determine who fills the open slots in the ECS Regular Season brackets.
Broadcasts will be available via the Community Caster Challenge, exclusively on Caffeine.
The ECS Regular Season is 5 BO3 single elimination brackets to determine who gets a spot at the finals.
8 teams from each region will compete from 16 September - 31 October, with the winners of each of the last three brackets getting an invitation directly to the ECS Season 8 Finals.
The first slot from each region will be made up of the top earning teams based on prize money won over the first two tournaments. Consistency counts!
Each week’s tournament has a $25,000 prize pool, and takes place over four days, broadcast live on FACEIT’s Twitch and Caffeine channels. As well as on partner broadcasters in other languages.
The ECS Season 8 Grand Finals will take place at the Esports Stadium, Arlington in Texas. The four-day finals will be two GSL groups, with the top four teams entering a knockout bracket to determine the champion for this season of ECS.