Esports tournament organiser ESL will head to Malaysia this December for Dota 2’s ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023.
The $1m (~£863,000) prize pool tournament will host its playoffs at the Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC).
ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 will take place from December 11th-17th and is set to feature 12 of the best Dota 2 teams from around the world. The tournament will start off with a three-day Group Stage where two groups of six teams will participate in the single round-robin format.
The top six teams will qualify for the live Playoffs from December 15th-17th, featuring a double elimination format. As of this writing, no competing teams have been revealed.
This is not the first time that ESL DOTA 2 heads to Malaysia, however, its three previous iterations have taken place in Genting. The last Malaysian ESL One, ESL One Malaysia 2022 peaked at 363,000 viewers and accumulated nearly 9.68m watch hours, according to Esports Charts.
Interestingly, ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 could overlap with another major competition: the Mobile Legends: Bang Bang M5 World Championship. According to the latest news, the final event of the MLBB 2023 competitive season will be held across two different locations – Kuala Lumpur (Wildcard stage) and the Philippines (Main stage) – throughout November and December.
Shane Clarke, Director, Game Ecosystems – Dota 2 at ESL FACEIT Group, commented on ESL’s decision to bring another ESL One iteration to Malaysia: “We know Dota fans across South-East Asia have been eagerly waiting for the return of ESL One for over a year now. This December, we’re bringing back ESL One, bigger & more accessible than ever before, as we move the tournament from Genting to Kuala Lumpur for the first time.
“We’re ready to put on a world-class tournament at MITEC, and look forward to returning to the region soon with more incredible live Dota 2 action and experiences.”
The announcement of ESL One Kuala Lumar follows Valve’s recent development that it will discontinue the Dota Pro Circuit, Dota 2’s top-tier tournament structure, after The International 2023, set to take place in October.
