The EPICENTER 2017 groups have been revealed with just over a week to go before the event kicks off with the group stage on June 4th.
Ten teams have been separated into two groups of five to engage in a brutal and deadly group stage to kick off EPICENTER 2017. Only three teams from each group (six total) will emerge from the battle to advance to the main event playoff stage. Four teams will never step foot on the main stage and end their journey behind closed doors.
Group A is chock full of European talent. Both EU direct invites OG and Team Liquid will compete against each other along with the EU qualifier winner - Team Secret. Na'Vi - who had won the 'redemption' popular vote by a landslide find themselves amid the predominately EU group, alongside the Chinese Regional Winners LGD Forever Young.
Group B on the other hand has quite a healthy mix of regions - but is heavier on the direct invite side. Three of the five direct invites - Evil Geniuses, Virtus.Pro and Invictus Gaming will be battling it out along with the NA Regional winners Thunderbirds and SEA Regional winners Clutch Gamers.
EPICENTER 2017 Format:
EPICENTER: Moscow will be split into several stages
Group Stage:
- 10 Teams: Mix of invited teams joined by qualified teams from four regions
- June 4th to 7th
- Two groups of 5 teams each
- Top 3 teams of each group continue to the play-offs
Main Event:
- Held at VTB Ice Palace from June 9th to 11th
- Top seed from each group proceed directly to the semi-finals
- The four 2nd and 3rd placed teams proceed to the quarter-finals
- Single-elimination bracket
EPICENTER 2017 Regional Prize Pool:
The tournament boasts a $500 000 prize pool split among all ten participating teams
1st Place: $250 000
2nd Place: $100 000
3rd and 4th Place: $40 000
5th and 6th Place: $20 000
7th and 8th Place: $10 000
9th and 10th Place: $5000
