Betting company 1win has announced that it will host a series of esports tournaments, the first of which is a $100,000 (~£78,374) Dota 2 event.
The 1win Series Dota 2 Spring is set to take place from March 16th to 19th. A total of eight teams will compete in the inaugural event with the likes of Team Spirit, Team Liquid and Virtus.pro announced as competitors.
1win Esports, the bookmaker’s own esports division, will also compete in the event. Launched in 2020, 1win previously competed in Counter-Strike events such as the ESL Challenger League and Champion of Champions Tour until disbanding its roster in 2023.
Last month, the team signed the Russian Dota 2 roster Klim Sani4 and recently qualified for ESL One Birmingham 2024.
The full list of teams includes Team Liquid, L1GA Team, Entity, PSG.Quest, 1win, MOUZ, Virtus.pro and Team Spirit.
The format will see the eight teams divided into two groups. According to a release, matches will be played according to the GSL system, a double-elimination bracket. In other words, teams will have three attempts to qualify for the next round. If a team loses twice, the organisation faces elimination.
The top two teams from each group will qualify for playoffs, with the four teams seeded into a single-elimination format. Matches will be Bo3 except the final, which will be a Bo5 series.
1win is among a growing list of bookmakers that have started to launch their own dedicated esports tournaments. Two Betboom Dache Dota 2 tournaments will be taking place in 2024.
Meanwhile, the second edition of the Counter-Strike 2 Thunderpick World Championship will commence in April. Other bookmakers such as Pinnacle and GG.BET have also hosted esports event activations in the past.
