Two seasons, 90,000 euros prize money and the best German teams in one competition? That is what the Merkur Masters promise.
The new tournament format invites the winners of the ESL Championship and the 99Damage League. In addition, the two best teams of the international HLTV ranking are also included. The other participants will be determined by qualifiers.
In a Closed Qualifier eight pre-qualifiers from the eight Open Qualifiers will meet eight invited teams. Only the best two from this pool will advance to the offline finals. There there is 35,000 euros to be won per season.
The Offline Finals will be the highlight of each season. They will be held in the Osnabrück Esports Factory. They are now set to be Sprout (winner ESLM and #30 in the HLTV ranking), Unicorns of Love (winner 99DMG) and BIG (#46 HLTV).
The debut season starts on January 26th. In each Open Qualifier there are 750 Euros and points to be won for the overall ranking. Based on this point system the best teams will move into the closed qualifier.
In addition to the FaceIT anti-cheat client, the Merkus Masters also use an identification process. In order to participate in the event, each player must clearly identify himself and be 18 years of age or older.
