The ESL One Katowice is one of the first major Dota 2 tournaments in 2018 and it is scheduled to start on February 20. For five straight days, the best players will come together and the Spodek Arena in Katowice, where 16 teams will compete for a massive prize pool. This year, there is $1 million to go around, and the winners will also secure a significant percentage of the 1500 TI8 qualifying points.
The organizers have announced the composition of the groups, with the names of all 16 squads revealed. Half of the participants have secured direct invitations, and among them are former The International winners. They will be joined by eight qualifying teams, and Polish players will be rooting for local favorites Team Kinguin.
ESL One Katowice teams come from all major regions, with China, Southeast Asia, South America, and CIS each sending a squad. There are two teams from Europe and two from North America and the group stage will last between February 20 in February 23. The top teams advance to the quarterfinals where the matches are played in single elimination brackets. In 2018 all series are best-of-three, except for the grand finals which are best-of-five.
