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PGL Open Bucharest 2018 schedule, format and teams

Jump into the pro Dota 2 action with all the details you need to know about this Pro Circuit Minor.

By Victoria Rose
PGL Open Bucharest Official Site

If you’re craving professional Dota 2 on a fine mid-October weekend, the Pro Circuit continues with the second straight weekend of European LAN finals. This time, we have the PGL Open Bucharest, another official Valve-sponsored event with $300,000 USD and 300 Qualifying Points at stake.

Hosted by the same company responsible for the Manila, Boston and Kiev Majors, as well as part of The International 7, the competition will be the second Minor of the season and feature a mostly different mix of teams than last weekend’s. Returning are Team Secret, Natus Vincere and Mineski, the latter of whom is fresh from a second-place finish at the StarLadder i-League Invitational.

The rest of the slots are filled with teams we’ll be seeing for the first time at a Pro Circuit LAN final. It’s sure to be an exciting time, as squads such as the Korean-gone-American Immortals and the newly-revamped South American Infamous are making their stage debuts here.

If you’re looking to catch the action, look no further, as we’ve got all the times and information you need to know to get started.

Can’t catch this weekend’s exciting battles? There are more and bigger events to come—you can see it all in our full Pro Circuit schedule.

Format

Official Stream: twitch.tv/pgl_dota

Prizes: The prize pool will be $300,00 USD with 300 Qualifying Points at stake, in proportion to the cash prize. Point distribution and cash prizes for teams that earn points will be as follows:

  • 1st Place — 150 Qualifying Points/player; $130,000 team prize
  • 2nd Place — 90 Qualifying Points/player; $65,000 team prize
  • 3rd Places (both Semifinals losers) — 30 Points/Player; $30,000 team prize

If you’re still a bit confused about how the Pro Circuit will work, check out our primer about the Valve-sanctioned tournament series.

Competition Format: This event’s group stages will be best-of-three “GSL,” a double-elimination format.

  1. Each team in the group of four will play another team.
  2. The winners of this initial match play each other for first seed, while the losers of the initial match meet for an elimination match.
  3. After the second set of games, the two remaining teams meet for a second-seed match. The winner of this match is second seed of the group, and the loser is eliminated.
  4. The top two seeds of each group proceed into the Playoffs on Sunday.

If you need to pick a day to watch, Sunday will certainly be the time to tune in, as both semifinals as well as the best-of-five grand finals will take place then.

Teams/Groups:

Group A:

  • Immortals (North America, Qualifiers)
  • Infamous (South America, Qualifiers)
  • LGD-Gaming (China, Direct Invite)
  • Team Secret (Europe, Qualifiers)

Group B:

  • Evil Geniuses (NA, Direct Invite)
  • Mineski Pro Team (Southeast Asia, Qualifiers)
  • Natus Vincere (Commonwealth of Independent States, Qualifiers)
  • VGJ.Thunder (China, Qualifiers)

Schedule:

Thursday, October 19 — Group A

  • 3:40 AM ET — Preshow
  1. 4:00 AM ET — Infamous (SA) vs LGD-Gaming (China)
  2. 7:20 AM ET — Immortals (NA) vs Team Secret (EU)
  3. 10:40 AM ET — Top Seed Decider — (Winner of Group A Match 1) vs (Winner of Group A Match 2)

Friday, October 20 — Group B

  • 3:40 AM ET — Preshow
  1. 4:00 AM ET — Evil Geniuses (NA) vs VGJ.Thunder (CN)
  2. 7:20 AM ET — Mineski Pro Team (SEA) vs Natus Vincere (CIS)
  3. 10:40 AM ET — Top Seed Decider — (Winner of Group B Match 1) vs (Winner of Group B Match 2)

Saturday, October 21 — Group Eliminations

  • 2:40 AM ET — Preshow
  • 3:00 AM ET — Group A Elimination Match — (Loser of Group A Match 1) vs (Loser of Group A Match 2)
  • 6:20 AM ET — Group B Elimination Match — (Loser of Group B Match 1) vs (Loser of Group B Match 2)
  • 9:40 AM ET — Group A Second Seed/Elimination Match — (Winner of Group A Elim Match) vs (Loser of Group A Top Seed Match)
  • 1:00 PM ET — Group B Second Seed/Elimination Match — (Winner of Group B Elim Match) vs (Loser of Group B Top Seed Match)

Sunday, October 22 — Semis & Finals

  • 3:40 AM ET — Preshow
  • 4:00 AM ET — Semifinal #1*
  • 7:20 AM ET — Semifinal #2*
  • ~ 11:40 AM ET — Grand Finals (Best of 5) [NOTE: Played one hour after conclusion of Semifinal #2.]

*Note: It’s unknown at the moment how the Semifinals will be seeded.

More information is available on their official site.

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