It is set to be another week dominated by Counter Strike: Global Offensive and League of Legends in the world of Esports.
The dust has settled on the BLAST Paris Major and in the world of CS:GO, attention now turns to the next S-Tier tournament - the IEM Dallas in the USA.
Last year the event was won by Cloud9, who eased past ENCE 3-0 in the final, but it is Heroic who are +225 favourites to win the tournament this time around, while G2 Esports and FaZe Clan are both +350.
Defending champions Cloud9 are +400.
Fresh from their Paris Major triumph, Team Vitality will not be involved in Dallas and the same applies to Natus Vincere.
Nonetheless, it should be an entertaining tournament with the winners set to claim $100,000 in prize money, 2,400 BLAST Premier points and a spot at the IEM Cologne later this year.
The IEM Dallas begins with a group stage featuring two double-elimination sections before moving onto a single-elimination playoff phase in which all matches are in a best-of-three format.
The IEM Dallas is not the only major event beginning at the start of the week with the League of Legends LPL Summer also getting under way in China.
The LPL Summer is the second major regional League of Legends event in China each year, taking place after the LPL Spring, and the winners of the event are guaranteed a spot at the World Championship at the end of the season.
It is a marathon not a sprint with the LPL Summer running from Monday right through into August, starting with a lengthy group stage and then moving on to the two-phase playoffs.
There are 17 teams competing but all eyes will be on one side in particular. JD Gaming have long been considered the best team in China but took things up a gear this year, firstly winning the LPL Spring but following that with a title triumph at the Mid-Season Invitational - one of the most prestigious international events in the world.
That stands them in good stead for Worlds later this year but for now they will want to round out a strong domestic campaign by taking the LPL Summer title too.
Another major regional League of Legends event starts this week in the form of the USA's LCS Summer on Tuesday.
Taking place at the Riot Games Arena in Los Angeles, the event is split between a group stage and playoffs and has a $200,000 prize pool on the table.
Ten teams are involved and the top three will book their spot in this year's Worlds.
Group A at the IEM Dallas will reach its conclusion on Wednesday with three teams set to advance to the playoffs - one coming from the lower bracket and two coming from the upper bracket.
It looks to be a strong section this year, featuring big hitters such as Heroic, G2 Esports and MOUZ.
On Thursday, it is the turn of Group B to finish at the IEM Dallas, completing the playoff lineup with another three teams.
FaZe Clan, who are +125 to reach the final, are the standout team in Group B.
The IEM Dallas playoffs start on Friday with two quarter-finals pitting the runners-up in Groups A and B against the teams finishing third in the opposite section.
The winners of each match will then progress to the semi-finals, taking place on Saturday, in which they will face the original group winners.
Summer continues at a furious pace throughout the week and on Saturday there is a triple-header of matches.
Invictus Gaming and Ninjas in Pyjamas are first up and are +100 and -138 respectively to win.
LNG Esports, who finished third in the LPL Spring regular season, are then -800 to defeat Royal Never Give Up, while Edward Gaming are -138 shots to beat Top Esports, who are +100, in the final match of the day.
On Sunday, we will discover the winners of the latest major event on the CS:GO calendar.
The champions of the IEM Dallas will secure $100,000 and a place in the IEM Cologne later this year.
Esports: Mutineers and FaZe can pick up valuable wins in Major Five
The regular season of this year's Call of Duty League is drawing to a close but before the top eight teams turn their attention to the end-of-season Championship next month, the winner of the season's fifth and final Major must be crowned.
bet365 News Team
May 27 2023
We use cookies to deliver a better and more personalised service. For more information, see our Cookie Policy
