Photo Courtesy of ESL
Both Team Secret and Effect have announced their withdrawal from the Summit 8 qualifiers taking place this week.
Scheduling conflicts seem to be the common theme for the two teams as the second wave of Pro Circuit qualifiers and events begin to commence. It is a story that is expected to repeat itself often with the jam packed schedule of events through the course of the next year.
Team Secret announced they would continue to participate with their run in the DreamLeague Season 8 Major qualifiers which is already in full swing and then would be heading out at the end of November to Shanghai, China for the Perfect World Masters the team was directly invited to attend.
Effect mentioned they had scheduling conflicts as well but did not indicate specifics. About three weeks ago, the CIS team also parted ways with their offlaner Andrey "Mag~" Chipenko. Since then the Bulgarian player Nikolay "Nikobaby" Nikolov - who last played for Walrus Punch!, Monkey Freedom Fighters and No Logic Gaming has been standing in for the role.
A replacement for Team Secret has not yet been announced. The European juggernauts that have dominated the qualifiers in the first wave of Pro Circuit events were automatically seeded into the semi finals. Without their presence, there is a renewed hope for some of the other teams that have been trying to claw their way into the coveted LAN events. The European qualifiers are expected to start tomorrow, November 9th.
The Brestomans - the runner-up team from Belarus that has had a strong presence in the region's open qualifiers and minor online events have assumed Effect's place in the Summit 8 qualifiers. Last night they were knocked into the lower brackets after a 2:1 defeat by Vega Squadron. They will next face Gamibt Esports tonight in a best-of-three elimination round.
The Summit 8:
Place: The Summit House, Los Angeles, California
Dates: December 13-17th
Prize Pool: $300,000
Qualifying Points: 300
The Summit 8 teams:
Direct Invite - 
OG
Winner of Kings Cup - 
Optic Gaming
Winner of NA qualifiers - TBD
Winner of SA qualifiers - TBD
Winner of EU qualifiers - TBD
Winner of CIS qualifiers - TBD
Winner of SEA qualifiers - TBD
Winner for CN qualifiers - TBD
