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Nearly two months ahead from the LAN event that will be held at the Mall of Asia Arena in Manila, Philippines ESL decided to drop their notorious single elimination format in favor of a GSL group stage prior to the main event bracket.
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The GSL group stage style was most recently used at the Frankfurt Major and it has the purpose of avoiding the brutal elimination of a team after their very first game in the tournament.
All eight participating teams will be split in two groups of four and they will play each other in the double elimination group stage one day before the main event, on April 22 to determine upper and lower bracket seeds for the single elimination bracket. The games taking place on Friday, April 22 will not be played at the Mall of Asia Arena but we will be able to watch them on Twitch, casted by the yet to be announced broadcast team.
For those unfamiliar with the GSL style group stage format here is an example for better understandings:
- Match one: Team A vs. Team B
- Match two: Team C vs. Team D
- Winners’ match (WM): Winner of match one vs. winner of match two - winner advances to upper bracket
- Elimination match (EM): Loser of match one vs. loser of match two - loser drops to lower bracket
- Decider match: Loser of WM vs. winner of EM - winner advances to upper bracket and loser drops to lower bracket
Fans that are planning to come at the venue to cheer for their favorites will still get the chance to see all eight teams in action.
ESL One Manila adjusted schedule:
Friday, April 22: Initial Matches + Winners’ Matches
Saturday, April 23: Elimination + Decider Matches (Decider Matches will replace the quarterfinals)
Sunday, April 24: Semifinals and Final
Source: esl-one
