ESL Major qualifier format & schedule
ESL have revealed the new format that will be used at the upcoming ESL One Cologne 2016 Main Qualifier.
The Major qualifier set to take place at the ESL Studios in Katowice, Poland will use a Swiss-system, which is a widely used format in chess tournaments, ESL have revealed.
In this format, all 16 teams will be in the same group as each team will play a maximum of five matches in a non-elimination format. Three losses will result in elimination. After the pre-determined first round matchups, teams with the same win totals that have not played each other will get matched in the subsequent four rounds.
Graphic explaning the whole format
When all five rounds are complete, top eight teams will qualify for ESL One Cologne. The tie-breaker rules are below:
- – Win-Loss ratio
- – Buchholz score system (the sum of wins of the team’s opponents)
- – Head-to-head match result
- – Initial seeding of the tournament
The pre-determined first round matchups use the following seeding system:
- Seeding Pool 1: Rank 9-12th of the last Major (MLG Columbus 2016)
- Seeding Pool 2: Rank 13-16th of the last Major (MLG Columbus 2016)
- Seeding Pool 3: Winners of Regional Minor Championships for Cologne 2016
- Seeding Pool 4: Runner-ups of Regional Minor Championships for Cologne 2016
The first round matches will be:
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ESL also revealed the schedule for the qualifier:
Thursday, June 9 | |
12:30 | - Pre-show |
13:00 | - First round starts, eight matches one after another |
22:00 | - Estimated end of day |
Friday, June 10 | |
12:30 | - Pre-show |
13:00 | - Second round starts, eight matches one after another |
22:00 | - Estimated end of day |
Saturday, June 11 | |
12:30 | - Pre-show |
13:00 | - Third round starts, eight matches one after another |
22:00 | - Estimated end of day |
Sunday, June 12 | |
12:30 | - Pre-show |
13:00 | - Six fourth round matches followed by three fifth round matches |
23:15 | - Estimated end of day |
If you can catch the action live from the ESL Studios in Katowice, grab yourself a ticket on the Eventbrite page.
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