DH SC2 Masters Winter – What to Expect at Regional Events and Finals

StarCraft’s 2 latest tournament is now underway, with matches having become in all regions. The Dreamhack Starcraft 2 (DH SC2) Masters is taking place split up between different regions, with the winners going forward into a world-wide event. The action is already building, with a good amount of the roster earning their spot.

DH SC2 Masters is the final event of the ESL Pro Tour. It is the last major event of the season, with the stakes are high for this event. There’s a prize pool of $57,000 on offer, but also the claim to beating out the world’s top players.

© DreamHack Starcraft 2 Masters

DH SC2 Masters Events

This event is primarily being split up into different regions to ease the qualification process for the main event and determine the regional champions. Each is taking place separately, and with a slightly different rule set based on players attending.

Regional Events

The regional events for the game are being held in slightly different formats, but the majority is following one set of rules. The Europe stage of the DH SC2 Masters for example, is being played by 32 contestants, in four group stages of eight players. The matches are best of three, with the top four in each group advancing to Playoffs.

The playoffs for this regional event are being done is a double elimination bracket. This is really where things get serious as matches become best of 5.  At the final the top player from the winner’s bracket takes a 1-0 lead into the best of 7 finals.

The Korea regional event took place a bit differently. It ran on October 27, but in a different format. Players who placed top four in the GSL Season 3 qualified for a spot automatically. Those placed 5th through 8th played a single elimination best-of-five series against one of their opponents. Trap and iNoVation beat Zest and DongRaeGu and qualified in this process.

Each of these regional events is going to be held in this format, although those that have concluded used a shrunken down version with lower player numbers. This is when you can catch the regional events:

• Europe – Oct 21 – Nov 8
• North America – Oct 27 – Nov 8
• Latin America – This event has concluded, running from October 21 – 25
• China – October 28 – Nov 1
• TW/HK/MO/JP – October 21-25
• Oceania – October 21-25

The Playoffs brackets in both North America and Europe kick off tomorrow with the bracket to be announced later today. The full statistics and results for both Group Stages are available on Aligulac.com.

The DH SC2 Masters Finals

So what’s are all the DH SC2 Masters Regionals building to? The final event will be a global competition, bringing out the best players in StarCraft 2 this autumn. If you’re interested in StarCraft 2 betting, then this event to watch out for.

The Finals are going to be played in a similar manner as most of the regional events. However, there are some minor differences. While 16 players are competing in group stages of four, it is in a dual tournament format. The top 2 players advance to the playoffs in a single elimination bracket.

While similar to the regionals, the finals are a bit more cutthroat. There is less room to maneuver, and fewer chances to come back from a bad performance. In terms of who to watch, the top players from the GSL League are always going to stand out, with TY and MARA definitely being those to keep an eye out for. Although, there’s always the chance of a player from the non-KR regions pulling off an upset, the odds never favor non-Korean players.

The DreamHack Starcraft2 Winter Finals 2020 begin on November 10. The official DreamHack Starcraft Twitter account posts regular updates about the event.

Read next: The problem with Power Creep and is it intentional?