HLTV.org's Summer guide 2010

HLTV.org guides you through the many events taking place in the summer of 2010.

Summer is here and a lot of events will take place throughout the season, and if you are wondering what dates the events will take place on, how many teams will participate or what the prize purse will be, then our summer guide will most likely come in handy.

The World Cup in football is on, your vacation might be approaching or you simply might be wondering what events you should be following, check below for a detailed breakdown of the events taking place this summer.

Swedish WCG qualifier

Location – Jönköping, Sweden
Date – June 19
Participating teams – 4

Information:

The Swedish qualifier for WCG will be the opening event of the season, staged at DreamHack Summer. Four teams will battle it out for two spots to the Nordic WCG qualifier finals later in the summer in Helsinki. Favorites in the qualifier are fnatic and SK Gaming, who will take on MYM and H2k in the semi-finals, respectively. The one-day event will kick off at 10:00CET and with the qualifier final scheduled to begin at 13:00 CET.

IOL FINAL4 Season 2

Location – Jönköping, Sweden
Dates – June 19-20
Participating teams – 4
Prize purse - $8,950 + 5 HP laptops

Information:

The second edition of Inferno Online League FINAL4 will also be played at DreamHack Summer, seeing four teams competing for a total prize purse of $8,950 and five HP laptops. It will be the same four teams playing the Swedish WCG qualifier; fnatic, SK, H2k and MYM, who will battle for the top spot.

The teams will start in a group stage where all teams will play against each other once, in a best-of-three maps mode, first round of matches will begin at 17:00CET, next at 20:00CET and last at 23:00CET. Top two in the group will advance to the final, which will be played 12:30CET on Sunday.

DreamHack Summer

Location – Jönköping, Sweden
Dates – June 20-21
Participanting teams – 16
Prize purse – $15,592

Information:

The DreamHack Summer competition will be gathering great teams from all over Europe, who will compete for a total prize purse of $15,592. The 16 teams will start in a group-stage, four groups of four, where top two will advance to the playoffs. The group-stage will kick off at 09:00CET with Group A, Group B will begin at 12:30CET, Group C at 16:00CET and Group D at 19:30CET.

The playoffs will feature eight teams playing a single elimination bracket in a best-of-three maps mode. Defending DreamHack champions from MYM will have a big task in defending the title, as likes of fnatic, Natus Vincere, SK Gaming, mTw and more will do all in their powers to stop them.

ASUS ENC Sweden

Location – Jönköping, Sweden
Date – June 20
Participating teams – Sweden & Poland

Information:

DreamHack Summer will be featuring an ASUS ENC main round match between Sweden and Poland, an encounter in which both teams will be in need of all three points in order to qualify for the relegation round. With losses against Norway and Ukraine, the teams will be giving all they have to get a hold of the victory, promising great action. The match will begin at 21:00CET and will be broadcasted by ESL TV.

ASUS ENC Germany 

Location – Berlin, Germany
Date – June 26
Participating teams – Germany & Denmark

Information:

The fourth offline event of the ASUS ENC 2010 will take place at the Tempodrom Berlin, Germany. The match to be played is the last one of Group B, seeing Germany take on Denmark. Germany are in desperate need of three points, while Denmark can secure the participation in the relegation stage. The match will kick off at 19:00CET and will be broadcasted by ESL TV.


Electronic Sports World Cup

Location – Paris, France
Dates – July 1-4
Participating teams - 30
Prize purse - $73,500

Information:

The much anticipated return of Electronic Sports World Cup will take place at Disneyland in Paris with a total prize purse of $73,500. The event will be one of the highlights this summer, gathering the top of all corners of the world. The last team to win the event, Polish Frag eXecutors will be looking at defending the title they have won twice in a row.

A total of thirty teams will be participating, where a lot of strong teams will be hungry to get their hands on the prestigious trophy.  The winning team will bring in a stunning $36,000 cheque and one of the most prestigious titles in the world of esport. This is without a doubt the event you cannot miss during the summer.

Arbalet Cup Dallas
 

Location – Dallas, USA
Dates – July 16-18
Participating teams – 32
Prize purse - $80,000

Information:

Arbalet Cup has crossed the Atlantic and will be throwing a tournament in Dallas with a total prize purse of an amazing $80,000, the biggest prize pot of the summer. Arbalet Cup throughout 2009 and 2010 delivered a large number of tournaments with the best team in the world, with an $80,000 prize purse we can expect one hell of a fight from the thirty-two participants, for the first prize of $25,000.

Arbalet Cup will return to the city where the CPL hailed for many years, bringing back some nostalgic or creating a new era? Next to ESWC, this event will be one to watch.

Finnish WCG qualifier #2

Location – Helsinki, Finland
Date – July 17
Participating teams – 8

Information:

The second Finnish WCG qualifier will take place in Helsinki, where the first place finisher will join Playzone at the Nordic WCG qualifier finals. The event will mark the return of Power Gaming, who after serving their duty in the Finnish army will be back on track. A total of eight teams will throughout this one-day event battle for one spot at Assembly Summer, which will play host for the Nordic WCG qualifier finals.

GameGune

Location – Bilbao, Spain
Dates – July 22-24
Participating teams – 32
Prize purse - $27,623

Information:

Bilbao will once again play host to the GameGune tournament, which will be the eight event in the Basque Country. The event will just like last year feature a prize purse of $27,623 and once again see thirty-two teams participating. Last years' winners from mousesports are yet to be confirmed for the event, but event has already confirmed strong teams participating in the tournaments.

Any team participating will be a strong challenge to get a hold of the $14,836 cheque. The event will this year not clash with e-Stars Seoul, which could secure us participation from the teams qualified to attend the South Korean event.

IEM5 Global Challenge Shanghai

Location – Shanghai, China
Dates – July 29 – August 1
Participating teams – 8
Prize purse - $40,000

Information:

The fifth season of the Intel Extreme Masters will kick off with a Global Challenge in Shanghai, with a $40,000 prize purse. Eight teams will be attending, where the top placed with not only received the $16,000 cheque, but also direct access to the season five World Championship. It is expected to gather the best of three continents when the tournament opens the doors at China Digital Entertainment Expo & Conference in Shanghai, China.

Nordic WCG qualifier finals

Location – Helsinki, Finland
Dates – August 5-8
Participating teams – 6

Information:

The Nordic WCG qualifier finals will take place at Assembly Summer, with two teams from Finland, Sweden and Norway fighting for one spot at WCG 2010 in Los Angeles with transportation and accommodation covered. All six participating teams are however secured a spot at WCG 2010, but the five teams failing to claim top spot will have to cover transportation and accommodation on their own.

e-Stars Seoul

Location – Seoul, South Korea
Dates – August 13-15
Participating teams – 6
Prize purse – $22,669

Information:

Seoul will once again play host for the e-Stars tournament, once again gathering six teams to compete in two competitions. The Continental Cup will once again see West take on East, while King of The Game will see the six teams fighting against each other. Defending champions of Continental Cup is East, while fnatic won King of The Game last year. The South Korean event will just like last year determine the participating teams via the fan vote, results in 2009 and 2010 and a jury vote.

One home and one home only

Make sure to stay with us throughout the summer, as we will be serving you coverage from all of the tournaments across the world, eager to bring your daily dose of high-quality content .