First DreamHack Masters of 2020 moved online; prize pool increased to $300,000

DreamHack has announced that its first Masters of 2020 will be moved to an online format, with $50,000 having been added to the tournament's prize pool.

The event, which will now be called DreamHack Masters Spring, will run from May 19 to June 14 and feature 32 teams from four different regions, which will have a combined prize pool of $300,000 - a $50,000 increase when compared to the original DreamHack Masters Jönköping prize purse.

With this announcement, DreamHack delivers on its promise to continue to bring Counter-Strike enthusiasts the best action despite being forced to suspend the Swedish Masters because of the coronavirus outbreak. The tournament was supposed to be held as part of the DreamHack Summer Festival, which has been rescheduled to August 6-9.

"We’re very excited to move to an online format for DreamHack Masters Spring," said Michael Van Driel, Chief Product Officer at DreamHack. "While not being able to compete on LAN is unfortunate, we’ve developed a structure to support teams, players and fans around the world.

"We look forward to a great competition, showing that the world of esports goes on as we're quick to adapt and find solutions for this new reality."

DreamHack Masters Spring is a part of the ESL Pro Tour and will be the last tournament awarding points towards the next Masters Championship, ESL One Cologne, which will be held from July 6-12.

Eight of the 32 tournament slots will be filled through qualifiers, the details of which will be announced in the coming weeks. Having qualified for DreamHack Masters Jönköping as a result of winning Open stops, BIG and Gen.G are amongst the teams who have been invited to the Spring tournament.

Below you can find the details about the four regions that will be involved in the DreamHack Masters competition:

Europe

Schedule: Group stage May 19-30; Playoffs June 8-14
Prize pool: $160,000

North America

Schedule: Group stage May 19-30; Playoffs June 8-14
Prize pool: $100,000

Asia

Schedule: June 2-7
Prize pool: $20,000

Oceania

Schedule: June 2-7
Prize pool: $20,000

In Europe and North America, the participating sides will be split into round-robin groups of four teams. The group winners will automatically progress to the upper bracket in the playoffs, while the second and third-placed sides will move to the lower bracket. In Asia and Oceania, teams will be directly seeded into a double-elimination bracket. All four regions will culminate with a best-of-five grand final, with the team coming from the upper bracket having a map advantage.