This Sunday the 3rd of May from 11:00 to 20:00 CEST, the ESL studios in Cologne will be hosting a US$30,000 Dota 2 tournament as part of the ASUS Play It Cool marathon. The tournament is a four-team invitational utilizing a best-of-three format and will be played in front of a live audience.

The teams

Alliance

Alliance is by far the most experienced team at the event. The winners of the International 3 have also recently qualified for ESL One Frankfurt 2015, defeating teams such as Cloud 9 and Natus Vincere on the way.

Virtus.pro

The team formerly known as ASUS Polar, Virtus.pro has won more than 100 gold, 170 silver and 220 bronze medals as an organization in over ten esports disciplines since 2003.

Ninjas in Pyjamas

NiP is the oldest and largest esports organization in northern Europe, and picked up LAJONS, an up-and-coming Swedish team, early this year in order to form a Dota 2 squad.

Lemondogs

The Lemondogs Dota 2 team may have been formed in only April this year but its players have been active for much longer than that, having previously been known as 4 Friends + Chrillee. As the big underdog of the tournament, they may bring big upsets to the event.

The talent

We have rounded up a team of well-known Dota 2 personalities to ensure you get the best possible Dota 2 viewing experience as well as great analysis and insight into the teams and matches.

• Host: Salome “Soe” Gschwind Penski

• Commentators: Austin “TheCapitalist” Walsh | Kai “H4nn1” Hanbueckers | William “Blitz” Lee

The patch

All of the matches will be played on the newest, 6.84, patch which has brought several significant changes to the game. Watching pro players adapt, and maybe even struggle, with all of the innovations will definitely be a treat.

Don’t miss out!

You can watch this exciting tournament live at the ESL studios in Cologne for only €5! Don’t miss out on this great opportunity to see top Dota 2 action live as well as meet the players and commentators.

Get your ticket here!

However, if you can’t make it to our studios in person, you can still enjoy the tournament by watching the live stream:

Tune in here on Sunday at 11:00 CEST!

To stay up to speed with all the latest information about the ASUS Play It Cool marathon, be sure to visit the official website.