Summer 2021 has already become full of esports tournaments, even despite the ongoing fight against the coronavirus.
Many countries have opened their airlines and vaccinations are underway. Right now, organizers are hosting events without viewers but there is a chance that viewers will be allowed to venues by the end of the season. Below, we will talk about the past tournaments and the ones we will have an opportunity to see in the near future.
WePlay Major 2021 (DOTA 2)
The studio WePlay was appointed to organize the second and last Dota Major of the season in Kyiv. The tournament was hosted at the beginning of June in the LAN format at Esports Arena but without viewers. Eighteen teams from six regions took part in it. The event was held in a familiar format with a Wild Card stage, Group Stage, and Playoffs, and with the usual amenities of an analyst desk and high-quality broadcast talent. Unfortunately for fans of close matches, the Grand Final of the Major was one-sided. The Chinese roster LGD defeated Evil Geniuses in a dominant 3-0 fashion.
WePlay Major 2021 was the last chance for the teams to receive direct invitations to the main tournament of the year The International 10.
ESL One Summer 2021 (DOTA 2)
The next Dota 2 tournament started right after the Major — ESL One Summer. The organizers directly invited nine teams, while three more were determined on the outcome of the closed qualifiers. Meanwhile, the playoff seeding depended on the number of DPC points. All matches, except for the final match, were hosted in a best-of-three format. The final was played by the Russian team Virtus.Pro and the Korean team T1. The Virtus.pro lost to the Koreans T1 with a score of 3-2.
IEM Summer 2021 (CS:GO)
This CS:GO tournament took place at the same time as the second Dota Major and fans had the opportunity to root for CIS team Gambit Esports as they beat OG in the Final with a devastating 3-0 match score. It is worth noting that the Russian team was nearly eliminated at the beginning of the tournament, having lost to Team Vitality with a score of 2-0, and had to battle through the Lower Bracket. But in a dramatic way, the team ended up making it to the Grand Final and took the ultimate victory.
BLAST Premier Spring 2021 Finals (CS:GO)
Another successful tournament for the CIS teams. The eight strongest teams, which had received spots in the event based on their past performances in the spring competitions, faced off in the final competition for a share of a $425k prize pool. The playoffs were held in the double-elimination format. At the end, Na'Vi and Gambit faced each other in the final. Gambit turned out to be stronger and swept their opponents away with a score of 2-0.
IEM Cologne 2021 (CS:GO)
This event is scheduled to take place in Cologne, Germany on July 8. Twenty-four teams hailing from every competitive region will compete for the main prize of $1 million. Considering the improving COVID statistics in Germany, the tournament should be held as scheduled. All teams should receive visas without any problems but viewers will definitely not be allowed to attend in-person yet. So fans will have to enjoy the beautiful play of their favorite teams online.
ESL Pro League Season 14 (CS:GO)
This season of the ESL league will last almost 30 days. The first matches will begin on August 16. There are 24 teams that will participate in the tournament, and currently, 12 of them are known because they are the regular partners of the league. The rest of the participants will receive invitations considering the results of the ESL World Ranking and regional competitions. A respectable prize pool of $750k will be up for grabs for the teams.
The International 10 (DOTA 2)
Perhaps the biggest esports event of the year, which was supposed to be hosted in Sweden, is in danger. The country’s authorities did not provide the tournament with the elite competition status, due to which many players faced visa issues. Valve has already responded to fans that it is urgently looking for a new venue, and it will supposedly be somewhere in Europe. Some analysts have the opinion that the tournament may be postponed for the second time. The prize pool is expected to be well over 30 million dollars. So we'll have to keep an eye out for further news.
