UPDATE: Three top teams dropped out of the tournament after publishing. eUnited, OW.QQ, and The Chavs will be replaced in their groups by EURONICS Gaming, Wizards Club, and YaLLa eSports respectively. The original article follows below.
Following on from the success of the inaugural StriveWire Monthly Brawl, the tournament is set to return tomorrow for March's edition. Top teams from across Europe will be competing over two days for €500, though notably missing Ninjas in Pyjamas as before.
This is the peak of the European circuit at this point in 2017, with teams such as eUnited, The Chavs, GamersOrigin, and new team Bench Boys competing for the relatively low prize pool in an attempt to grow a sustainable tournament system for Europe.
The StriveWire Monthly Brawl is a 16-team tournament with GSL group stages and single-elimination playoffs, running over Saturday and Sunday, 4th - 5th March.
The 16 teams, listed below, will be split into four groups of four. GSL-style double elimination groups will commence on Saturday, 4th March at 16:00 CET. The top two teams from each group will progress to play in single-elimination playoffs starting Sunday, 5th March at 16:00 CET.
All matches, both in groups and in the eight-team playoff, will be best-of-three. Control maps will be played as best-of-five in regular series, with predetermined Control tiebreakers played as best-of-three; for matches in the upper bracket the decider map will be Lijiang Tower, while in the lower bracket it will be Nepal. Further rules can be found on the StriveWire page here.
Prize Distribution
- 1st. €350
- 2nd. €150
Teams
Group A
- EURONICS Gaming (replaced eUnited)
- Wizards Club (replaced OW.QQ)
- b0nkers
- nerdRage
Group B
- GamersOrigin
- YaLLa eSports (replaced The Chavs)
- ALTERNATE aTTaX
- Cyclone
Group C
- Movistar Riders
- Oslo Lions
- Pale Golden Rod
- x4ckers
Group D
- Bench Boys
- ex-Tornado.ROX
- Grand Danois
- Vivi's Adventure
The notable new team this month is Bench Boys, the new venture featuring old names such as TwoEasy, Kryw, Kyb, and Winghaven. It's bustling with personality and playmaking ability, and this will be its second test in a tournament setting. Bench Boys played in the Rivalcade Weekly just over a week ago, reaching the finals by beating Cyclone but losing there to Movistar Riders. This tournament is more of a stacked bracket; they're in Group D with two strong tier-two teams so progressing to playoffs is not a given.
In the previous StriveWire, eUnited found victory after a shaky first game, beating The Chavs and Dignitas en route. They'll be out for revenge, as will former finalists GamersOrigin who have just returned from a LAN victory in the Montpellier Esports Show over LDLC.
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