e-Stars to feature 16 teams

The e-Stars Seoul organisation has announced that this year's event will attract a total of 16 teams from around the globe.

The decision represents a huge increase in the number of the teams who will compete at the event, as the tournament traditionally gathered just six sides.

Frag eXecutors, last year's champion, are the only confirmed team for the event, which will run 19-21 August at the COEX D Hall in Seoul.

The four South Korean attendees will come through local qualifiers, while the last 11 participants (six from Europe, three from Asia and two from the Americas) will be decided through a mixture of fan voting and past achievements, both accounting for 50 per cent.

Meanwhile, it has been announced that a deal has been cut with MSI which will see the tournament change its name to e-Stars Seoul 2011 MSI Beat IT Championship. That is not the only consequence of the deal, though, as the prize purse has been increased from €47,000 to a figure in the excess of €54,000.

The candidates' list will be revealed in mid-May, while the fan voting will run from 23 May to 30 June on e-Stars' official website. After the tournament commitee has reviewed the teams' CV, the announcement of the final 16 teams will be made in early July.