MANILA -- The top 12 teams from around the world, including TNC Predator of the Philippines, will see action in the ONE Esports Dota 2 World Pro Invitational tournament at the Singapore Indoor Stadium held from Dec. 20 to 22.
ONE Esports, a subsidiary of ONE Championship™ (ONE) which is the largest global sports media property in Asian history, has announced that Alliance, Evil Geniuses, Gambit, J.Storm, Natus Vincere, PSG.LGD, Team Aster, Team Liquid, Team Secret, Virtus.pro, Vici Gaming, and TNC Predator will join the tournament offering a total cash purse of USD500,000.
"Never before has Singapore hosted such a world-class esports event," said ONE Esports CEO Carlos Alimurung in a statement released to the media on Thursday.
"Nine teams were at the past International and competed for the USD34M prize pool. The best on-air talent will cast and commentate - 11 of them covered the last International as well. The best cosplayers will perform - one of which, Redemption Props, won the TI9 Best in Show award. And, with our partner, PGL, we will deliver a game-changing esports experience for the teams, fans, and spectators. The stage set-up alone will certainly wow everyone!," he added.
Select Dota 2 pro teams will have a one-hour meet-and-greet session with fans across all three days of the event, with priority lines for VIP and Cat 1 ticket holders.
The talent list includes renowned female host Sheever, top casters TobiWan, BSJ, ODPixel, Fogged, paired with analysts Black, Trent, and Capitalist. Joining them are content creators Kyle and Malystryx, as well as observers Weppas and Skrff.
Cosplay superstar, Redemption Props, will be at the three-day event to meet-and-greet with fans. Redemption Props is a full-time professional costume designer and cosplayer from India. He won TI9’s Best in Show award for his amazing Treant Protector costume. Redemption Props is set to come in as Dota2’s Drow Ranger with his award-winning costume design.
Cosplay winners from the KL Major, including Darryl Izzy (Dragon Knight) and Vinca Kazuki (Vengeful Spirit), and other cosplayers will also attend the event to meet and interact with fans.
"Fans should expect not only an amazing competition between the world's best Dota2 teams, but also amazing performances by the on-air talent and cosplayers. Moreover, the weekend will feature team meet-n-greet sessions, cosplay performances, exclusive event merchandise for sale, audience contests and giveaways, and many more activities to keep fans engaged and entertained,"Alimurung said.
Fans can win a trip for two to Singapore to be part of all the festivities by joining the “Our Game, Your Story” contest. They must share how Dota 2 has impacted their lives in a Facebook post, with the hashtags #ONEDota2 and #OGYS. Contest ends on December. 5.
The event in Singapore is the first in the ONE Esports Dota 2 World Pro Invitational serie, with the second ONE Esports Dota 2 Jakarta World Pro World Pro Invitational taking place on April 17-19, 2020 at the Indonesia Convention Exhibition. (PNA)
