“What’s on this week?” is ESI’s weekly feature letting you know just what’s going on in the wonderful world of esports in the next seven days. Each week, ESI picks a selection of events and provides a brief overview of what’s going down, where it’s taking place and how you can watch it.
This week sees us head to the Battleground of the Gods as we check out the opening week of the 2019 SMITE Pro League. We catch up with the CWL after its short break for Fort Worth and then set off to Europe for some PUBG esports action as the competition heads into week two.
SMITE Pro League 2019 – Opening week
SMITE Pro League 2019 gets underway this week, last years winners Splyce will be looking to get back-to-back titles as they look to defend their title. For this season, 10 teams take to the Battleground of the Gods – Dignitas, eUnited, Luminosity Gaming, Pittsburgh Knights, Renegades, SK Gaming, Spacestation Gaming, Splyce, Team RivaL and Trifecta.
The League will take place over the next 13 weeks, matches will be played on Thursday & Friday with each a Bo5. Each team will play each other twice during the 13 weeks before the Allstar Invitational and Mid Season Invitational. The season all plays into the SMITE World Championship 2020 later this year.
Stream: SmiteGame – Location: Hi-Rez Studio, USA – Date: 28/3 – 29/3 – Sponsors: N/A – Organiser: Hi-Rez Studios – Prize pool: TBD
PUBG Europe League – Week 2
PUBG Europe had a rocky start in 2019, it finally got underway last week and we already have a good idea of which teams will be worth keeping an eye on. Currently, G2, TSM, Vitality, Jokers, Team Liquid and ENCE make up the top 6, with G2 & ENCE in joint first place with 162 points. Winstrike, NiP, Red Diamonds, FaZe Clan, Pittsburgh Knights, CrowCrowd, Na’Vi, Raise Your Edge, Digital Athletics and M19 make up the rest of the field.
The format for the event takes place over four days, with five rounds played each day from Thursday to Sunday. The top four teams at the end of the season will advance to the FACEIT Global Summit: PUBG Classic, with all teams entering into the PEL Kick-off Cup which starts on April 30th – May 5th.
Stream: PEL Esports – Location: Berlin, Germany – Date: 28/3 – 31/3 – Sponsors: N/A – Organiser: StarLadder, PUBG Corporation – Prize pool: TBD
CWL 2019 Pro League – Week 5
We head back to Call of Duty this week to check in on the Pro League. As of publishing, we join proceedings on day two of week five. Week five will see the teams in Division A & B cross over and take on sides across bracket which should give us a better idea of which teams are looking strongest. Right now, Gen.G and Midnight Esports in Division A and eUnited and 100 Thieves are looking like the top dogs, with only eUnited having matches this week, the side has a chance to cement its lead on Division B.
This week will see UYU, Heretics, Red Reserve, Excelerate Gaming, Team Envy, Luminosity Gaming, Evil Geniuses and eUnited do battle. As previously mentioned, this week will see teams fight across Divisions for the first time this season, with all games played in a Bo5 series. The top four after the 12 weeks will advance, whilst the bottom four will drop into a play-in bracket.
Stream: CallofDuty – Location: Columbus, USA – Date: 25/3 – 29/3 – Sponsors: ASUS, Scuf Gaming, ASTRO Gaming Mtn Dew AMP – Organiser: MLG, Treyarch, Activision – Prize pool: $710,000 (£530,000)
That’s a wrap on this week’s picks, be sure to check back next week for another edition of the ESI weekly picks.
We want to feature at least one smaller event each week on the ESI weekly picks. If you want an event included in a future edition, send an email to [email protected].