The esports reality has gone too far ahead of the regular sports, which mainly becomes quiet in summer. The exception includes football tournaments and the Olympics but they are organized only every two years. And esports clubs compete for the prestigious titles, which bring a big prize for the winning rosters every year.
Let’s consider what tournaments were hosted in the first summer month of 2021 and what the top ones will shine bright on streams in July and August.
The ones that made history
WePlay AniMajor
On June 13, Dota2 fans were following the epic fight between two clubs, which made it to the grand final of WePlay Major – 2021. The presence of the Chinese favorites PSG.LGD in the grand final was something predictable but Evil Geniuses, which had moved through the lower bracket, was the sensation.
The final match was played with the advantage of the Paris club, which left no illusions to Evil Geniuses with a score of 3:0. The reward for Wang “Ame” Chunyu and his partners was 200 thousand dollars of prize money and 500 DPC points.
ESL One Summer 2021
The second biggest Dota 2 tournament was over on June 20, in which the roster of participants was respectable. All the best rosters, except for the Chinese ones, were there. But this time, the Indonesian team T1 was lucky. But they passed an interesting way to their victory and the prize of 175 thousand dollars.
Initially, 23savage and the team reached the final of the upper bracket where they lost to Virtus.Pro in a tough match with a score of 1:2. The loss brought them to the final of the lower bracket where the Indonesians managed to break the opposition of the Scandinavians from Alliance with a score of 2:1. And they had an opportunity to fight with “the Bears” once again in the grand final.
The match was the jewel of the whole tournament. The Indonesians won the title in the thrilling series with a score of 3:2. Everyone was charmed by their expressive coach March who is considered to be the main factor in the success of the team by experts.
IEM Summer 2021
The IEM tournament made fans CS:GO happy with an interesting plot. The title was won by the Russian esportsmen from Gambit Esports. They consistently beat in the playoffs: Evil Geniuses, G2, and OG. Thanks to the efforts made by Sergey “Ax1Le” Rykhtorov and his teammates, the club earned 100 thousand dollars and Ax1le became the MVP of the tournament.
BLAST Premier Spring 2021 Finals
Gambit Esports is back on top again. They defeated NaVi with a score of 2:0 in the final and confirmed their title of the best team of 2021.
We will see the top ones
CS:GO
The massive competition for one million bucks will start at IEM Cologne 2021 on July 6. The tournament is scheduled to take place in the LAN format in Cologne. Initially, there will be the Play-In stage, then the group stage for 16 teams, and the playoffs. The favorites include Gambit Esports, VirtusPro, and the Danes Heroic.
The last year’s winners Heroic seriously aim to repeat their last year’s success but Gambit is in incredible shape.
Malta will host the group stage of ESL Pro League Season 14 on August 16. Esports clubs will compete for 750 thousand dollars. The line-up of participants is to be determined.
Dota 2
The biggest tournament of the year, The International 10 is in danger. The official website of the organizers has released the statement that the tournament can’t be hosted in Stockholm. They have asked all countries to organize the tournament with a prize pool of forty million dollars.
A few cities have already responded:
- Bucharest;
- Copenhagen;
- Cologne;
- Kyiv;
- Moscow.
The reason for the cancellation of the tournament at the legendary Avicii Arena is banal – security concerns over the coronavirus. The dates of the tournament and the line-up of the participants are unknown now.
Valve has faced such issues at The International 10 for the first time in its history.
