News > ESPORT > Announcing DreamHack Open 2015

Announcing DreamHack Open 2015

Razer, EIZO, and HyperX are proud to join DreamHack in announcing the DreamHack Open 2015 tour, which will visit two new countries and, for the first time ever, feature two official titles: StarCraft II: Heart of the Swarm and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. Throughout seven DreamHack events across Europe, the World’s best gamers will compete live for over $350,000 in prizes and the chance to be the next DreamHack Open Champion!

DreamHack Open has featured StarCraft II since the event first launched in 2012, and in 2015, Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is being added as the second official title. As a game that’s deeply ingrained in DreamHack’s eSports roots, it’s very exciting to be able to bring Counter-Strike on tour as an official DreamHack Open title in Sweden, France, England, Romania, and Spain.

DreamHack is also thrilled to be partnering with Razer, EIZO and HyperX that will be sponsors of this year’s DreamHack Open. In total, DreamHack will team up with over 15 sponsors, broadcast partners and local partners to produce the tournament series.

“2015 will be the biggest year yet for DreamHack Open,” says Tomas Lyckedal, DreamHack’s Business Development Director. “Not only are we adding Counter-Strike, but we’re also visiting two new countries with huge eSports fan bases. We see StarCraft II and Counter-Strike as the two eSports titles which have stood the test of time, and putting them together in DreamHack Open makes perfect sense.”

Here below you find all information about DreamHack Open 2015. More news will follow in the coming days, and we’ll also soon launch the new web page open.dreamhack.se.

DreamHack Open 2015 Stops

DreamHack Tours – May 8-10 (8-10), Tours, France

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive & StarCraft II

DreamHack Summer – June 13-16 (13-15), Jonkoping, Sweden

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

DreamHack Valencia – July 16-19 (16-18), Valencia, Spain

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive & StarCraft II

DreamHack Stockholm – September 25-26 (25-26), Stockholm, Sweden

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive & StarCraft II

DreamHack London – TBA, London, England

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

DreamHack Cluj-Napoca – October 30-November 1 (30-1), Cluj-Napoca, Romania

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

DreamHack Winter – November 26-29 (26-28), Jonkoping, Sweden

Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

In (brackets) above, you find the DreamHack Open tournament days.



Click on the picture for a larger version

The DreamHack Open Format

DreamHack Open is open for both amateurs and professionals. In both StarCraft II and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive players and teams will be offered the chance to compete versus some of the World’s best players. In both games, it ultimately ends with the the “Final 8 Show” in StarCraft II and the “Final 4 Show” in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive. It’s where all matches are played on-stage and with an action-packed liveshow attached to it – sometime referred to as the best entertainment in the eSports community.





Counter-Strike: Global Offensive

Counter-Strike will make its official DreamHack Open debut at the inaugural stop at DreamHack Tours, and will be featured at every following event. Eight teams will compete for over $40,000 at each event, with the semifinals and finals being played out live on stage. In traditional DreamHack style, we’re very keen to keep supporting the grassroots eSports scene, and therefore 50% of the slots will be obtained through qualifiers—half of which will be allotted to BYOC (Bring Your Own Computer) tournaments at LAN parties related to each event, and half to open online qualifiers.

Competition Format

Teams: 8

Participation: 4 invites, 2 online qualifiers, 2 BYOC qualifiers (subject to vary event to event)

Prize Money: $40,000 per stop (Top-8 distribution)

Format: Group stage Ro8 into single elimination Bo3 semifinals/finals

Competition Days per Event: 2 (+1 if BYOC qualifier)

CS:GO Events:

DreamHack Tours – May 9-10 (May 8 BYOC Qualifier)

DreamHack Summer – June 15-16 (June 14 BYOC Qualifier)

DreamHack Valencia – July 17-18 (July 16 BYOC Qualifier)

DreamHack Stockholm – September 25-26 (No BYOC Qualifier)

DreamHack London – TBA

DreamHack Cluj – October 31-November 1 (No BYOC Qualifier)

DreamHack Winter – November 26-28





StarCraft II

StarCraft II players will have the chance to compete in the biggest live events, produced in partnership with Blizzard Entertainment, featuring 96 players at each stop competing for 4,000 WCS points and $25,000 in prize money! StarCraft II will be featured at three DreamHack events leading up to the WCS Global Finals: DreamHack Tours, DreamHack Valencia and DreamHack Stockholm.

Competition Format

Players: 96

Participation: Open sign-ups

Prize Money: $25,000 per stop (Top-8 distribution)

WCS Points: 4,000

Format: 2x group stage (32 players pre-seeded into Ro64) into single elimination (Ro8 onwards Bo5)

Competition Days per Event: 2

StarCraft II Events:

DreamHack Tours – May 8-9

DreamHack Valencia – July 16-17

DreamHack Stockholm – September 24-25

SIGN UP FOR DREAMHACK OPEN TOURS

Counter-Strike

To participate in the BYOC qualifier at DreamHack Tours, visit http://www.dreamhack.fr for all the details! To apply for one of the four invited slots, email open[@]dreamhack.se; invitations are reserved for teams with international results or from regions unable to participate in online qualifiers.

StarCraft II

Sign-ups for DreamHack Open StarCraft II will open soon! Follow @DreamHackOpen on Twitter for the updates.

Watch it unfold Live

DreamHack Tours is happening May 8-10; be sure to visit http://www.dreamhack.fr for information on visiting the event to catch all the action live!

ABOUT DREAMHACK

DreamHack is the World’s largest computer festival. DreamHack’s core and origin is the LAN party, with the two major festivals: DreamHack Summer in June and DreamHack Winter in November. The events are a platform for eSports, knowledge and creative competitions, music acts, lectures by game developers, internet and game culture, cosplay, the fair DreamExpo, and much more. DreamHack is also a production company with a focus on gaming, eSports, music and arena productions for both TV and the internet.

In 2014, DreamHack had 104,000 visitors to its events and more than 32 million unique viewers who followed the live broadcasts online. More information is available on http://www.dreamhack.se.

ABOUT DREAMHACK OPEN

Launched in 2012, DreamHack Open is DreamHack’s premiere eSports tour, featuring seven live LAN tour stops across Europe. DreamHack Open has featured StarCraft II since 2012, and will additionally feature Counter-Strike: Global Offensive as the second official title in 2015. DreamHack Open is supported by Razer, EIZO, and HyperX, and boosts a prize pool of $200,000. All tour stops are open for both amateur and professional players alike, and the top matches are broadcast in HD for free.

ABOUT RAZER

Razer is a world leader in connected devices and software for gamers.

Razer is transforming the way people play games, engage with other gamers and identify with the gamer lifestyle. Having won the coveted “Best of CES” award consecutively for five years, the company’s leadership in product innovation continues to create new categories for the gaming community that is estimated to have over 1 billion gamers worldwide.

Razer’s award-winning design and technology include an array of user interface and systems devices, voice-over IP for gamers and a cloud platform for customizing and enhancing gaming devices.

Founded in 2005, Razer is backed by Intel Capital, IDG-Accel and Heliconia Capital Management (Heliconia), a wholly owned subsidiary of Singapore investment company Temasek. For more information visit http://www.razerzone.com/about-razer.

Website: http://razerzone.com

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

Twitter: https://twitter.com/teamrazer





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