ESL have announced the Sydney Derby, a qualifier for the $250,000 IEM event, as well as the return of the Australia and New Zealand National Championship which offers $20,000 AUD in prize money.

The format for Season 8 of the AU & NZ National Championship has gone through some changes in comparison to last year's version, on this occasion featuring just twelve teams, down from sixteen. Eight of the aforementioned teams will receive direct invites and four participants will be admitted via an open qualifier.

The IEM Derby will offer a chance to qualify for the IEM Sydney 2019 group stage

Open qualifiers for the AU&NZ Championship 2019 will take place over the course of February and March. Teams interested in participating can register by following the links below:

February 9 - Open Qualifier #1 (Link)

February 16-17 - Open Qualifier #2 (Link)

February 23-24 - Open Qualifier #3 (Link)

March 2-3 - Open Qualifier #4 (Link)

The twelve participating teams will be split into two groups of six, duking it out over the course of the season which will take place over March and April, featuring exclusively best-of-three matches.

Upon conclusion of the online season, a six-team LAN final will be held at a yet undisclosed time and location. The teams that finish top of their group will be admitted directly to the semi-finals of the LAN, the two runners up will start in the quarterfinals, and the remaining two participants of the quarter-finals will be determined through a last chance qualifier.

As for the newly-announced IEM Sydney Derby, it is a four-team qualifier, taking place on April 16-18, that will allow participants of the seasonal matches to secure a spot in the group stage of IEM Sydney 2019. The top two teams from each group of the AU&NZ Championship 2019 online season will duke it in a single-elimination bracket, with the victor of the grand final copping a spot in the group stage of the $250,000 event.

The current participants list for IEM Sydney 2019 is:

FaZe

Invite

Invite

Invite

Invite

EU qualifier

Greater China qual.

Southeast Asia qual. InviteInviteInviteInviteEU qualifierGreater China qual.Southeast Asia qual. Renegades

Invite

Invite

Invite

NA qualifier

Oceania qual.

East Asia qual.

IEM Sydney Derby InviteInviteInviteNA qualifierOceania qual.East Asia qual.IEM Sydney Derby

For more details about the ESL AU&NZ Championship and the IEM Derby, check out ESL Australia's official announcement.