Team Empire replace Team Liquid at WePlay Dota 2 LAN

Team Empire will be replacing Team Liquid at WePlay Dota 2 LAN. In the final hours before the event, Team Liquid have withdrawn due to player illness. Team Spirit, EG, MVP.Phoenix, Team Empire, Ad Finem, EWolves and Vega Squadron to compete for the $200,000 base prize pool. The playoffs are scheduled to take place at the International Exhibition Hall in Kiev, Ukraine April 28-May 1st.

Team Empire goes to @WePlayDota2 and will replace @TeamLiquidPro: https://t.co/4cdwdXlIpE

See you tomorrow already xoxo

— Team Empire (@team_empire) April 27, 2016

Team Empire will now be making their second LAN appearance at WePlay Dota 2 LAN. The newly rebuilt Russian team will be replacing Team Liquid at the LAN event due to a “player illness”.

Last weekend Team Empire ran through the star-studded Team Secret twice to advance to the semifinals at ESL One Manila, erasing all questions and doubts about their new lineup’s potential and talent. They assumed the third place spot on the podium and proved they are a force to be reckoned with.

Recently, WePlay made an announcement confirming Ad Finem as completing the line-up in lieu of Fnatic.

The eight participating teams – Team Spirit, Evil Geniuses, MVP.Phoenix, Team Empire, Ad Finem, EWolves and Vega Squadron will be split into two groups.

WePlay Dota 2 LAN will begin one day earlier than originally expected, on April 28th. The first day of the event will serve as the group stage to determine seeding for the playoff brackets.

The groupstage will be be played in best-of-one format, with the first games for each team being a best-of-three series.

The playoffs are best-of-three double elimination with grand finals being best-of-five.

WePlay Dota 2 LAN groups

Group A

• Na’Vi
• Team Empire
• Team Spirit
• EWolves

Group B

• Vega Squadron
• Evil Geniuses
• MVP.Phoenix
• Ad Finem

WePlay Dota 2 LAN

In January, WePlay League announced their return for season three.

Season 2 was held in 2013, with Na’Vi being crowned champions after besting Alliance, 3:2. The CIS team walked away with the $25,000 first place prize.

WePlay Dota 2 LAN format

LAN finals

Evil Geniuses was the first confirmed invite on the organization’s website.

The LAN finals will be held in Kiev, Ukraine, at the International Exhibition Hall, between April 28-May 1st.

• 4 qualified and 4 directly invited teams will compete
• Teams split into two groups for group stage
• Group stage begins with best-of-three series, then best-of-one thereafter
• Double elimination playoff brackets
• Best-of-three playoff format
• Grand Finals best-of-five series

WePlay Dota 2 LAN prize pool distribution:

The prize pool can be increased by cosmetic set and ticket sales. The share is 10% of total sales; the share of ticket sales is 20% of total.

• 1st place: $100,000 + 30% of Dota 2 store sales share
• 2nd place: $40,000 + 20% of sales share
• 3rd place: $22,000 + 15% of sales share
• 4th place: $12,000 + 10% of sales share
• 5/6th place: $8,000 + 7.5% of sales share
• 7/8th place: $5,000 + 5% of sales share

***Teams, including manager, will also receive:

• paid flights and other travel expenses
• accommodation at a hotel ranked at least 4 stars
• three meals/day
• a practice area with 5 PCs per team
• a private players’ lounge