ESL One Frankfurt 2016 teams, schedule, format

ESL One Frankfurt 2016 teams will be warming up on June 17th with the group stage before progressing to the Commerzbank-Arena in Frankfurt for the playoffs on June 18th and 19th. Eight of the best teams – three directly invited (Alliance, OG, Team Liquid) and five qualified teams (Na’Vi, Vega Squadron, Virtus.Pro*, compLexity Gaming and Fnatic) will be competing for the ESL One Frankfurt 2016 $250,000 prize pool.

*Virtus.Pro have replaced the winners of the ESL One Frankfurt 2016 Chinese qualifiers, LGD Gaming.

Picture Credits: ESL and PGL

ESL One Frankfurt 2016 teams are already in Germany gearing up for the event that will round out ESL’s $1,000,000 pledge to Dota 2.

Six of the eight teams have just touched down in Europe after a whirlwind of two weeks in Manila, Philippines, where they competed for the third Dota 2 Major championship title.

OG edged out Team Liquid, 3:1, in the Manila Major Grand Finals to make history and take their second Valve-event title. In Frankfurt, Germany, OG will aim for a trifecta of premier LAN trophies in one month.

With TI6 direct and regional invites lurking around the corner, all of the teams are expected to perform at their best – striving to gain the nod and seal of approval from Valve.

ESL One Frankfurt 2016 Groups

*Virtus.Pro have replaced LGD Gaming. The Chinese team was allegedly forced to withdraw from ESL One Frankfurt 2016 due to health reasons.

ESL One Frankfurt 2016 Schedule

ESL One Frankfurt 2016 – Friday, June 17th

• 10:30 CEST – Team Liquid vs. Vega || Alliance vs. Fnatic
• 13:45 CEST – OG vs. Na’Vi || coL vs. LGD
• 17:00 CEST – Group A winners’ match
• 20:15 CEST – Group B winners’ match

ESL One Frankfurt 2016 – Saturday, June 18th

• 10:30 CEST – Group A elimination match
• 13:45 CEST – Group B elimination match
• 17:00 CEST – Group A decider match
• 20:45 CEST – Group B decider match

ESL One Frankfurt 2016 – Sunday, June 19th

• 10:30 CEST – Semifinal #1
• 13:45 CEST – Semifinal #2
• 17:45 CEST – Grand Finals

ESL One Frankfurt 2016 directly invited and qualified teams

• Alliance – direct invite
• OG – direct invite
• Team Liquid – direct invite
• Fnatic – ESL One Frankfurt 2016 SEA qualifiers
• compLexity Gaming – ESL One Frankfurt 2016 Americas qualifiers
• Vega Squadron – ESL One Frankfurt 2016 European qualifiers
• Na’Vi – ESL One Frankfurt 2016 European qualifiers
• Virtus.Pro – replacing the winners of the ESL One Frankfurt 2016 Chinese Qualifiers, LGD Gaming

ESL One Frankfurt 2016 tickets

Fantastic atmosphere at the Commerzbank-Arena, in Frankfurt, during ESL One. © Helena Kristiansson/ ESL

ESL One Frankfurt 2016 tickets are available on Ticketmaster.de, at prices ranging from €29 to €2,999.

• Rank Seating – €29 (Sit on the rank seats, while at the same time saving a bit on the ticket cost. Access to the festival remains the same.)
• Infield Seating ticket – €39 (Free seating on pitch level. Ticket holders are free to move around as they please. They will still have access to all the festival activities.)
• Premium ticket – €249 (Seating right in front of the stage with exclusive signing sessions, exclusive Secret Shop premium ticket, unlimited food and drinks and a bonus surprise to be announced soon.)
• The Aegis Experience – €2,999 (Access to a private lounge for a group of five. All the premium perks apply plus front of the line access to signing sessions and venue entry.)

ESL One Frankfurt 2016 teams

Team Liquid at the Manila Major

When Team Liquid seized second place at the Shanghai Major after taking down Alliance, MVP.Phoenix and Evil Geniuses, they also captured the favor and seal of approval from tournament organizers and fans around the world. Since the Shanghai Major, they were directly invited to participate in ESL One Manila, ESL One Frankfurt 2016 and assumed the place of EHOME when the Chinese team’s invite to EPICENTER Moscow was revoked due to roster changes.

On April 24th, Team Liquid went undefeated into the ESL One Manila Grand Finals, but ended up dropping three games, along with the championship title, to Wings Gaming.

EPICENTER Moscow would be their shining moment. After two consecutive second place finishes at premier events, the European mix seized their first premier championship title when they edged out Newbee, 3:2, in an intense and dramatic series.

Once again, the European team provided some standout performances and breathtaking matches at the Manila Major, only days ago. After an almost perfect run through the lower brackets, Team Liquid was bested by OG in the Grand Finals, 3:1. Liquid ended up taking another second place position in a Dota 2 Major.

Fnatic during the Manila Major Groups

Showing up to the Shanghai Major in a completely different form, Fnatic started to take on a new life. In the last few months, they secured multiple LAN spots through victories in the regional qualifiers: ESL One Manila, EPICENTER Moscow ESL One Frankfurt 2016 and SL iLeague StarSeries season 2. They won BTS Series 4 SEA and followed up with a championship title at the SEA Kappa Invitational Season 1.

In May, Fnatic announced an update to their roster including the long awaited return of Chai “Mushi” Yee Fung to competitive play. His return stimulated a domino effect of changes in the Fnatic roster – including Adam Erwann Shah “343” bin Akhtar Hussein’s move into a primary role on the team and the departure of Wai Pern “Net” Lim.

Without missing a beat, The Summit 5 SEA qualifiers became the second consecutive LAN qualifier Fnatic seized in one week, shortly followed by securing their place in the SL iLeague StarSeries season 2.

The Malaysian-based team finished the Manila Major with a commendable 5th-6th place finish.

OG at the Manila Major

The team first defied the odds when they rose through the lower brackets, bested The International 5 champions, Evil Geniuses, and upset favorites Team Secret to rocket to the top and claim the championship title and the staggering 1.1 million dollars prize at the first Dota Major, in Frankfurt.

They followed up with a first place finish at DreamLeague Season 4 but slid into the 5th-8th place at the DotaPit Season 4 LAN. Stepping back up, they secured the fourth place at StarLadder iLeague Dota Invitational after being bested by Na’Vi, 2:1, in the lower brackets.

They continued to re-climb the ladder of success and took a remarkable third place at EPICENTER Moscow and then the championship title at DreamLeague Season 5 one week later, after they absolutely shellacked Na’Vi, 3:0.

In another ground-breaking moment, OG seized their second Valve championship title at the Manila Major, when they defeated Team Liquid, 3:1. The European squad is the first team to claim two Valve titles and continue to aim high – having once stated that perfection is their goal.

compLexity at ESL One Manila

compLexity Gaming underwent roster changes in November 2015, as they welcomed Swedish brothers Rasmus “Chessie” Blomdin and Linus “Limmp” Blomdin for the new season, reviving most of the HoN StayGreen roster from 2013-2014. Simon “Handsken” Haag also joined the mix. Since then, they have had powerful and compelling victories and performances.

The North American/European mix overpowered Shazam, 3:2, in the Americas Qualifiers for EPICENTER Moscow, eventually taking fourth place in the main event.

Most recently, the NA based squad took 9th-12th place at the Manila Major. Before the Major, coL were given a run for their money when Digital Chaos overpowered them in the SL i-League StarSeries Season 2 American Qualifier and the The Summit 5 American Qualifiers.

The team is looking to secure their TI6 direct invite and re-establish their foothold on the international scene.

Alliance opening ceremony Manila Major, courtesy of Sandisk.gg

In December 2015, the Swedish squad welcomed former teammate and longtime friend, Jerry “EGM” Lundkvist. Barely two weeks later, they nailed down their first championship title in one year and a half, at WCA 2015.

Less than a month later, they continued to sizzle, burning down the North American TI5 champions, EG, to take their second consecutive premier LAN championship title at the StarLadder iLeague StarSeries. Their games featured perfect execution and optimal team coordination, expected of a team that was once considered a Western juggernaut.

Alliance slipped a few notches, taking 7th-8th place at the Shanghai Major, where they were eliminated in a major upset by compLexity Gaming, 2:1. They then took the 5th-6th place at Starladder iLeague Dota Invitational and again at EPICENTER Moscow.

Taking 9th-12th place at the Manila Major, Alliance have set their sights on a top performance in Germany, in hopes of securing their TI6 direct invite.

Na’Vi during the Manila Major Group Stage

After trying out and then finalizing their roster in February, with Viktor “GeneRaL” Nigrini, Na’Vi began to surge forward with positive results.

In the DotaPit Season 4 LAN, Na’Vi secured an impressive 3rd-4th placement after a long stint of struggles. Na’Vi ended their run at the DotaPit LAN finals having bested the Shanghai Major champions, Team Secret, and pushing the TI5 Championship team, Evil Geniuses, to a deciding third match.

At the SL iLeague Dota Invitational LAN, the Ukrainian team was on fire in front of their hometown audience. Spectacular performances led the squad to the grand finals against ViCi Gaming Reborn, where it took four incredibly intense, hair-raising matches for VG.Reborn to clinch the championship title.

A nod to their thrilling performances and renewed vigor, Na’Vi received a direct invite to the WePlay LAN – where they took a 5th-6th place finish at the WePlay LAN finals after topping their group phase.

The Ukrainian team was the crowd favorite at the Manila Major and didn’t disappoint. With heart-stopping matches and clutch plays, they landed a commendable 7th-8th place at the third Dota Major. Na’Vi are teetering on the edge of a direct invite to TI6 and will be aiming to prove their worth in this last LAN before the invites are issued.

Vega courtesy of SL iLeague Invitational LAN

Vega Squadron surprised many when they surged forward, showing strong performances in the TI5 European qualifiers and grabbing the Wild Card Series slot for the biggest tournament of the year. Although they failed to advance in the main event of TI5, the squad remained committed to each other and did not fall victim to post-TI roster changes.

They managed to upset TI5 champions Evil Geniuses in a clean 2:0 sweep and cruised to the ESL One New York grand finals to defeat Team Secret, 2:1, and claim the championship title. When it came time for teams to make roster changes for the following season, Vega remained committed to each other once again, but without enjoying much success the CIS team made their first roster changes since before TI5 at the end of March.

The team has been competing in less of the premier and major events and most recently Vega rose up to the occasion and grabbed third place in the Game Show Global Esports Cup and 5th-6th at Starladder iLeague Invitational.

Coming into the new season, Virtus.Pro made drastic changes to their lineup at the end of March, as they announced the addition of both Alexander ”NoFear” Churochkin and Maxim “yoky” Kim to the roster, replacing Alexander “DkPhobos” Kucheria, and Ilya “Lil” Ilyuk. At the same time, the team announced that Airat “Silent” Gaziev had been moved to the substitute role. Their fifth and final position was then filled by Ilya “ALOHADANCE” Korobkin, most recently departed from Team Empire.

The team’s new roster LAN debut took place only weeks later at the StarLadder i-League Invitational where they took 5th-6th place and displayed impressive and solid performances. Third place in the ESL One Frankfurt 2016 European Qualifier, 5th-10th in The Manila Major 2016 Europe Qualifier, 7th-8th at EPICENTER and third place at DreamLeague Season 5 LAN – those results do not do justice to the vast improvement the team has made or the sensational plays and drafts they have produced.