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DreamHack Open 2014

EIZO, HyperX, and Razer are proud to join DreamHack in presenting the DreamHack Open 2014 Tour with six live StarCraft® II: Heart of the Swarm® tournaments across Europe. The best Starcraft II pro-gamers from around the globe will have the opportunity to compete for a total of $200,000 being awarded as well as earn their place in esports history as the next DreamHack Open Champion.

DreamHack Open 2014 will feature the same core format that fans and players have come to know and love in the 2013 year; including completely open sign-ups as well as the much praised final eight players show. With a newly added stop in Moscow, each DreamHack Open stop will qualify four players to the tour-ending Grand Finals hosted at DreamHack Winter. To make it to the final championship at DreamHack Winter, every single player will need to prove themselves at a live tour stop. More information on the format can be seen on the infographic below.



Click the image for a larger version

“DreamHack Open had an explosive ending in 2013 with Team Liquid’s TaeJa concluding a year of domination with a victory over StarTale’s Life. We are very excited to see how the stories will unfold in 2014.” says DreamHack CEO, Robert Ohlén “Of course none of this would be possible without the support of our sponsors, so we are thrilled to welcome back EIZO and HyperX, as well as welcome Razer and thank them for making 2014 the biggest year for DreamHack Open yet.”

The full list of dates, tournament format, and broadcast details can be found below. DreamHack Bucharest signups have already begun, so click here to get your name in to participate in the first stop of DreamHack Open 2014!



DreamHack Open dates

DreamHack Bucharest

26-27 April, Sala Polivalenta, Bucharest, Romania

DreamHack Summer 2014

14-16 June, Elmia, Jönköping, Sweden

DreamHack Valencia

18-19 July, Feria de Valencia, Valencia, Spain

DreamHack Moscow

13-14 September, Stadium Live, Moscow, Russia

DreamHack Stockholm

26-27 September, Stockholm Globe Arenas, Stockholm, Sweden

DreamHack Winter 2014

27-29 November, Elmia, Jönköping, Sweden



DreamHack Open Format, Prize Money and WCS Points

For 2014, DreamHack Open will feature a very similar circuit format to 2013. Each Open tour stop will feature sign-up for open participation of up to 96 players, a mixture of professionals as well as amateurs. All competitors will compete in 3 group stages to narrow down to 16 players, and from there the competition will become single elimination best-of-3, with a best-of-5 grand finals. An important note is this year we will aign with the StarCraft II World Championship Series (WCS) system, and shift from using round-robin group stage format to dual tournament group stage format. We are proud to continue partnership with Blizzard Entertainment and the World Championship Series competition in offering 4,000 WCS points for every DreamHack Open Tour stop. The top four players of each open tour stop will qualify to the DreamHack Open Grand Finals to be hosted at DreamHack Winter 2014.

Total Prize Money : $200,000

DreamHack Open Tour Stops

Bucharest – Summer – Valencia – Stockholm – Moscow

Total: $25,000 and 4,000 WCS Points, top 4 qualify to DreamHack Winter Grand Finals

1st place: $10,000

Runner-up: $5,000

3rd/4th: $3,000

5th-8th: $1,000

DreamHack Open Grand Finals at DreamHack Winter

Total: $75,000

1st place: $30,000

Runner-up: $15,000

3rd: $10,000

4th: $6,000

5th/6th: $4,000

7th/8th: $3,000



Sign-up Today to compete at DreamHack Bucharest

From April 26-27th, DreamHack will return to Sala Polivalenta for the second year. In 2013 DreamHack Bucharest featured what may have been the most stacked open tournament the StarCraft community saw in 2013, and we are very excited to return. Be sure to sign-up today to guarantee your spot in the competition, or purchase a spectator pass to catch all the action live from the audience.

Sign-up to compete here. English instructions for using the website are also here.

Purchase a spectator pass here.

The official hotel for DreamHack Bucharest is the Intercontinental Hotel, find details for booking rooms at preferential rates here. For information on travelling to the event, information can be found here.

Watch DreamHack Open from Home

As with 2013, fans will be able to tune into all DreamHack Open tournaments for free in 720p thanks to our partner Twitch. DreamHack is also proud to continue our partnership with SVT, and will feature streaming on SVTplay as well as have all grand finals shown on Swedish Television.

Twitch Livestream – Free 720p

For every DreamHack Open Tour stop fans will be able to tune in to follow the group stage and bracket stage for free and in 720p HD thanks to our partner Twitch. Each stop will feature a world class team of commentators, hosts, and personalities to make sure you don’t miss a minute of the action. We intend to continue to revamp our broadcast and make use of a greater pool of commentators and personalities to present StarCraft matches in a way never before seen by the StarCraft audience. The best group stage games will be selected and commentated, and the final 8 players will battle it out on stage for the title of DreamHack Open champion. The live stream will be available at http://www.twitch.tv/dreamhacksc2.



SVT – Swedish Public Service Television

DreamHack is proud to continue our partnership with SVT for DreamHack Open. This will mark the 5th year of DreamHack working with SVT to broadcast esports to a greater audience. A livestream will be available on SVTplay.se and each grand finals will be broadcast on SVT’s Television channels.



DreamHack Open Hall of Fame

ThorZaiN – Stockholm 2012

MaNa – Summer 2012

TaeJa – Valencia 2012

Nerchio – Bucharest 2012

HerO – Grand Finals at Winter 2012

Leenock – Stockholm 2013

StarDust – Summer 2013

HyuN – Valencia 2013

TaeJa – Bucharest 2013

TaeJa – Grand Finals at Winter 2013

About EIZO



EIZO is a leading global manufacturer of high-end visual display products. With our FORIS line of gaming monitors, we seek to deliver superior color, refresh rates, and in-game visibility for a more enjoyable gaming experience. We are a proud sponsor of the DreamHack Open as well as many other eSports events and organizations.

Website: http://gaming.eizo.com

Facebook: http://facebook.com/EIZOGlobal

Twitter: http://twitter.com/EIZO_Global



About HyperX



Designed to meet the most rigorous demands of gamers, overclockers, creative professionals and tech enthusiasts, HyperX® is the high-performance product line from Kingston Technology, the world’s largest independent memory manufacturer. Featuring best-in-class components that deliver superior speed, quality and aesthetic design for more than a decade, HyperX memory modules, USB Flash drives, headsets, cooling fans and SSDs put users at the top of their game. See how HyperX can optimize the performance of just about any rig at kingston.com/hyperx and see the latest from HyperX and the many gaming teams it sponsors at facebook.com/hyperxcommunity.

Website: http://kingston.com/HyperX

Facebook: http://facebook.com/hyperxcommunity

Twitter: http://twitter.com/HyperX

YouTube: http://www.HyperXUnbeatable.com



About Razer



Razer™ is the world leader in devices and software platforms that enable, connect and entertain a worldwide community of electronic entertainment enthusiasts, 24/7.

With a rich history in gaming, music and design, Razer’s award-winning technology includes voice-over IP and other social applications and devices; programs for music production, performance and enjoyment; cloud-based solutions for customizing and enhancing computer systems and related product performance; and a wide array of groundbreaking laptops, tablets, audio products, hardware and accessories, and apparel.

Razer applies its design and engineering resources to develop products that support the on-the-go lifestyle inherent to its contemporary, global, technophile community, fulfilling their immediate wants and needs wherever they are. At Razer, everything it does resonates with the company credo: For Gamers. By Gamers.™ For more information, please visit www.razerzone.com/.

Website: http://razerzone.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TeamRazer

Twitter: https://twitter.com/teamrazer



ABOUT BLIZZARD ENTERTAINMENT

Blizzard Entertainment is a premier developer and publisher of entertainment software. After establishing the Blizzard Entertainment label in 1994, the company quickly became one of the most popular and well-respected makers of computer games. By focusing on creating well-designed, highly enjoyable entertainment experiences, Blizzard Entertainment has maintained an unparalleled reputation for quality since its inception.

StarCraft WCS Website: http://wcs.battle.net/

StarCraft Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/starcraft/

StarCraft Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/starcraft/



About DreamHack Open

Launched in 2012, DreamHack Open is DreamHack’s premiere esports tour featuring 5 live LAN tour stops across Europe culminating with the Grand Finals hosted at DreamHack Winter. The official game is StarCraft® II: Heart of the Swarm® by Blizzard Entertainment. DreamHack Open is supported by EIZO, HyperX, and Razer and boosts a prize pool of $200,000. All tour stops are open for both amateur and professional players alike, and the best matches are broadcast in HD for free.

Website: http://open.dreamhack.se

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dreamhackopen



About DreamHack

DreamHack is the World’s Largest Computer Festival. DreamHack’s roots and core is the LAN party, with the major events DreamHack Summer and Winter, where participants bring their own computers and connect to the Internet in a large local area network which basically BECOMES the Internet by sheer scale. DreamHack is also Sweden’s first consumer-oriented trade show / event / festival for computer games, game consoles and computers. The events are a platform for tournaments in esports, knowledge and creative competitions, concerts by famous music artists, lectures by game developers and much more.

Website: http://www.dreamhack.se

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Dreamhackfestival

Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/dreamhack