We’re excited to announce that Reach Season 1 will end on March 15th and the ESL Academy Draft will take place at the Los Angeles Dota 2 Major on the main stage between matches. Additionally, the finals for season 1 will be taking place at an unannounced ESL One Dota Tournament in May.

One of our goals with the players who are drafted into the finals is to provide them with an experience that money can’t buy. That’s why they will get a treatment that is similar to what the pro players attending the tournament get, from gift bags to food and the player afterparty.

You can read more about our partnership with ESL below:

Elo Entertainment Partners with ESL to Launch Reach,

Providing Dota 2 Players Path to Professional Esports Play

AUSTIN, TX – Dec. 17, 2019 – Elo Entertainment (“Elo”), an advanced data analytics company for competitive video games, in partnership with ESL, the world’s largest esports company, has launched Reach.gg (“Reach”), a platform to elevate aspiring Dota 2 players to professional esports.

The Reach platform integrates proprietary matchmaking, data analytics, and behavior scoring to help players develop and showcase their skillsets. Top players will be eligible for the ESL Academy draft. Drafted players will be offered the opportunity to show off their skills on the main stage at an ESL One Dota 2 event and build relationships with professional players.

“We are proud to create a path for players of all skillsets to improve their level of play and their chances of being recognized within Dota 2,” said Sabina Hemmi, CEO and Co-Founder of Elo. “We are building a community that is highly inclusive and promotes the highest standards of play.”

“Sabina and the Elo team were a natural partner choice given their industry track record of advanced statistics, analysis, and seeding algorithms,” said Ulrich Schulze, Senior Vice President of Pro Gaming at ESL. “We are pleased to work with Elo to build a platform where players can learn, cooperate, and coordinate with like-minded players.”

Reach’s first season launched on December 13, 2019 and is open to Dota 2 players in North America and Europe. Following the season’s March 15, 2020 end date, the top 40 players will be eligible for the ESL Academy draft event, which will be held during the Dota 2 Major in Los Angeles.

Four coaches from the two regions will each select five players to train before the ESL Academy Finals in May, which will be held in conjunction with an ESL One Dota event in May. Drafted players will be flown to the tournament, where they will have the opportunity to meet and learn from professional players, veterans, and coaches.

Elo recently partnered with Eldridge Industries to enhance its product offerings and expand into new game titles to continue providing high-quality statistics and analytics to the esports and gaming community.

About Elo Entertainment

Elo Entertainment is an advanced data analytics company for competitive video games that transforms raw game data into actionable insights. Through its network of websites and products, Elo reaches millions of esports fans, players, developers, and professional team analysts each month. The company’s websites include Dotabuff and Overbuff, the largest community websites by traffic for Dota 2 and Overwatch respectively. Elo is headquartered in Austin, Texas. To learn more about Elo, please visit https://elo.io.

About ESL

ESL is the world’s largest esports company. Founded in 2000, ESL has been shaping the industry across the most popular video games with numerous online and offline esports competitions. The company operates high profile, branded international leagues and tournaments under the ESL Pro Tour including ESL One, Intel® Extreme Masters, ESL Pro League, and other premier stadium-size events, to more clearly define the path from zero to hero. ESL also produces the ESL National Championships, grassroots amateur cups, and matchmaking systems, creating a world where everybody can be somebody. With offices all over the world, ESL is leading esports innovation on a global scale through the combination of global ESL competitions, amateur leagues, publisher activations, and more. ESL is a part of MTG, the leading international digital entertainment group.

About Eldridge

Eldridge Industries grows diversified businesses with a focus on Credit and Credit/Real Estate Hybrid; Insurance and Insurance Tech; Real Estate; Sports and Media; Convenient Food; and Technology. In particular, the firm seeks to build and grow businesses led by proven management teams that have demonstrated leadership and experience to scale an enterprise. Eldridge is headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, with additional offices in Beverly Hills, New York, and London. To learn more about Eldridge please visit www.eldridge.com.