Taking a step back in time, a look back on the Manila Masters Tournament that took place in 2017.





How did the Manila Masters 2017 end up taking place during this time frame? Well, it all began with the beginning of dota 2 mmr boosting scene. Ever since the release of ranking in Dota 2, people have been extremely competitive, and have wanted to make a name for themselves in the gaming industry, which is easier said than done. Having to battle it out constantly, and prove yourself on a day-to-day basis to maintain your high ranking, and build a community, which is what the majority of these players have tried to strive for, and most have succeeded with.





To give a little context, this tournament was the FIRST ever of it’s series, and so was the formatting. This event was hosted by ESL, and the Mineski-Events Team. It featured a whopping $250,000 grand prize pool that took place in the Mall of Asia Arena, which was previously home to ESL One Manila 2016, along with the Manila Major, both of these being one the bigger turnouts for Dota 2 Tournaments.





Five teams, all ranging from different regions. Chinese qualifying team, Oceanic qualifying team, the Philippines qualifying teams, a North American qualifying team, and last but not least, hosted a European qualifying team. Team NP, Evil Geniuses, OG, Newbee, Team Secret, Invictus Gaming, Team Faceless, Clutch Gamers were all rounded up, and these were the names of the nameless. The faces of the faceless. These were the best of the best around the world.





Broadcasted for millions to view in the comfort of their own home, to see these teams battle it out to see who’s the best of the best. The most elite players battling it out the only way they know how to. In the Mall of Asia arena.





This double-elimination bracket wasn’t anything abnormal to Dota, and their previous tournaments, but for 2017, the double-bracket elimination meant that it was getting serious. Having different regions arrive, and battle it out to see who’s earned their spot at the top in a double-bracket format was something that wasn’t all too common to general tournaments. This was game-changing. An offline, best of 3, with a best of 5 Grand Finals taking place all throughout less than a week? The amount of stress, practice, and overall dedication that all of these teams had to make was insane for the time. It’s safe to say that the Manila Masters’ series paved the way for the rest of Dota tournaments.

Broadcasted in every possible language you could think of, and all available names you could think of; the Masters’ were on it. The list of accounts that live streamed this event can be found on this website.





4 of the 8 participating teams that took place in the Manila Masters were all rewarded for their hard work, and diligence ( and yes, the lower bracket was also rewarded for their hard work, but nothing in comparison to the upper 4 teams. )





Evil Geniuses taking 1st place and taking half of the total prize pool ( quoted above as $250,000 ) receiving $125,000. Newbee taking 2nd place, receiving 20% of the pool, with a nice chunk of money; $50,000. In third place, we have Team NP receiving $25,000 from the prize pool, and last but not least, Team Faceless taking up 8% of the prize pool’s profits, a $20,000 was awarded to them.