ESL representative explained the reasons for choosing the dates of open qualifiers for the Major

Ulrich Schulze, VP of Product at ESL, explained the reasons for choosing the dates for open qualifiers for the Major. According to the German functionary, the tournament operator will begin qualifiers for the next RMR tournaments the day after the end of the summer break due to the approved calendar full of championships from third-party organizers. As a result, ESL had no choice but to post qualifiers right after the break ends as BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2022 and ESL Pro League Season 16 follow.

After the summer break, the tournaments will run for seven consecutive weeks - two weeks of BLAST Premier Fall Groups 2022 (12 teams, many of which do not participate in open qualifiers) and five weeks of ESL Pro League Season 16 (24 teams, many of which play open qualifiers). We have scheduled part of the open qualifiers for those weeks of the ESL Pro League where North American teams will not play.

The second half of the year is always incredibly tight, which is one of the reasons why we advocated an earlier break from the pro scene in early 2023. This once again shows that every coin has two sides and ideal solutions are rare.

A break in the pro scene is a tournament break. That is, no championships are held during it, but outside of these dates, they are held. Previously, there were various options, one of which was to hold "less important" online matches and qualifications in the first weeks after the end of the pause. This approach is difficult to navigate. Who will say what is important and what is not? The only practical solution is to treat the break exactly as a tournament break, and the players themselves should choose what they will do during the absence of events. It is quite possible to discuss the topic of lengthening the pause, but this also has its drawbacks.

We had to wait until the end of IEM Cologne 2022 in order to determine the seeding for the ESL Pro League based on the updated rating and, taking this into account, choose the dates for the RMR qualifiers. That is why the selection schedule was not announced earlier.

Recall that the day before, the tournament operator ESL, responsible for hosting the upcoming IEM Rio Major 2022, revealed the details of the qualifying process for the first-ever major in Brazil. Open qualifiers for RMR tournaments will begin in August and will be held in seven regions (Europe, North and South America, China, Oceania, Middle East and Asia).

Schedule of open qualifiers for IEM Road to Rio

Europe:

• First open qualifier: August 15-17.
• Second open qualifier: August 18-20.
• Third open qualifier: August 22-24.
• Fourth Open Qualifier: August 26-28.

North America:

• First open qualifier: August 15-17.
• Second open qualifier: 31 August - 2 September.
• Third Open Qualifier: September 3-5.

South America:

• First open qualifier: August 15-17.
• Second open qualifier: August 20-22.
• Third open qualifier: August 25-27.

Oceania:

• First open qualifier: August 15-16.
• Second open qualifier: August 20-21.
• Closed qualification: August 27-28.

China:

• First open qualifier: August 15-16.
• Second open qualifier: August 20-21.
• Closed qualification: August 27-28.

Asia:

• First open qualifier: August 15-16.
• Second open qualifier: August 20-21.
• Closed qualification: August 27-28.

Near East:

• First open qualifier: August 15-16.
• Second open qualifier: August 20-21.
• Closed qualification: August 27-28.