ESL Masters Spring will conclude this weekend (May 31 - June 2nd) at DreamHack Dallas! StarCraft II's top competitors will contend for the final seasonal championship of the 2023/24 EPT Circuit, and look to lock in their spots at August's EPT World Championship which will be hosted at the Esports World Cup.
Read our regionals recap for more information about how the seeded players obtained their spots.
1: Coffee declined his seed to the Winners Stage and was replaced by Nice. 2: MaxPax declined his seed to the Winners Stage and was replaced by Reynor.
Schedule and Format
Players are initially split into the Winners Stage (16 players) and Open Stage (32 players), depending on whether or not they obtained a high seed from regional competition (see player list above). Winners Stage and Open Stage results decide which players advance to the final knockout + playoff bracket, and their starting position in those brackets (while separate in name, the knockout and playoff brackets are effectively part of a single, complicated, elimination bracket*).
All 16 players from the Winners Stage advance to the knockout + playoff bracket, but their starting positions/seeding differ depending on their performance in the Winners Stage. Of the 32 Open Stage players, the top 8 players advance to the knockout + playoff bracket and start at the lowest position/seed.
For help understanding the format, check out our all-in one megachart or the ESL explainer video posted below.
Day 1 (May 31): Winners Stage + Open Stage
Start time: 15:00 GMT (+00:00)
Winners (Seeding) Stage
16 players: Top players from regional qualifiers + EPT point standings
2x eight-player double elimination brackets
Top two players from each bracket (four total) qualify directly for the RO8 playoffs
3rd-8th place players (12 total) are seeded into the knockout bracket according to their placement
Winners Stage bracket #1
Winners Stage bracket #2
Open Stage
32 players: From open sign-ups (selected in order of EPT points)
4x eight-player double elimination brackets
Top two players from each bracket (eight total) advance to the knockout bracket (seeded into lowest round of knockout bracket)
Open Stage bracket #1
Open Stage bracket #2
Open Stage bracket #3
Open Stage bracket #4
Day 2 (June 1): Knockout Stage + Playoffs RO8
Start time: 15:00 GMT (+00:00)
Knockout Stage
20 players: 12 from the Seeding Stage + 8 from the Open Stage
4x King of the hill/gauntlet style brackets
Winner of each gauntlet bracket (four total) advances to the playoffs
Gauntlet brackets seeded according to the results from day 1, with open stage winners starting at the bottom of the bracket
Some interesting choices for the talents. I thought Rachel was doing a great job and it's weird to see State and Nathanias instead of Steadfast or Catz. At the same time, I welcome the rotation of casters to give everyone opportunities.
Very excited to see the event nevertheless, let's hope also for a surprise champion! (but not a military service serral type of surprise)
On May 31 2024 06:21 Telephone wrote: I guess I decided last second that I'm going. Hope to see some great games! I wonder whether there will be any time to get player autographs.
There's official signing sessions scheduled.
There's also usually some decent opportunities to find a player between matches and ask for an autograph, as long as you're polite about it.
YES NATHANIAS IS BACK!!! TIME TO GET HIM ON THE MAIN STAGE!!!!! also very happy about state, i've really enjoyed him in GSL and it's nice to see Maru get an easy coast into the playoffs
OMG I didnt realized how PACKED this tournament is, what an amazing weekend of SC2 is starting in 7 hours.
I think Serral will dominate tho, he is free of the pressures that caused him to lost to other zergs in the past (He is a bit emotional).
Right now is like, if he does well, he does well despite of being in the military service. Huge props! If he does bad, no worries, understandable, he is doing his military service.
Btw the finish military service is quite mild no? Like he is allowed to take days off and flight to another country to compite. I mean compared with the korean military service.
On May 31 2024 16:48 Argonauta wrote: OMG I didnt realized how PACKED this tournament is, what an amazing weekend of SC2 is starting in 7 hours.
I think Serral will dominate tho, he is free of the pressures that caused him to lost to other zergs in the past (He is a bit emotional).
Right now is like, if he does well, he does well despite of being in the military service. Huge props! If he does bad, no worries, understandable, he is doing his military service.
Btw the finish military service is quite mild no? Like he is allowed to take days off and flight to another country to compite. I mean compared with the korean military service.
He is in a special unit for athletes apparently, so this is why he still can get time off for these kind of things. I assume he wouldn't be able to do that if he was in the regular service.
EPT
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