Toyota Esports announced the first international Counter-Strike: Global Offensive tournament in Thailand. The Toyota Masters CS:GO Bangkok 2018 is taking place from November 21 to November 25.
The tournament starts with a two-day group stage, the top six teams qualify for the main event at the Stadium Huamark in Bangkok. Four teams from around the world are receiving a direct invitation to the competition. On its website, Toyota Esports revealed that the first team invited is Renegades from North America. More teams will be announced in the following weeks.
Teams from Europe, Southeast Asia, China, Thailand, Commonwealth of Independent States and America are competing in the online qualifiers. For the first time, North America and Latin America are grouped in a single qualifier starting on September 28. This decision could result in a Brazilian representative since the country has some of the best CS:GO players in the scene.
Thailand’s representative will be decided at the offline national finals. The event is set to take place on October 20 and 21 at the Pantip Esport Arena in Bangkok.
Out of 1280 squads, only 10 will have a chance to fight for a piece of the $100,000 (£77,600) prize pool at the Stadium Huamark, a venue with 10,000 seats. The event is brought to the Thai audience by CheckMate and Beyond God Like. Toyota Masters is sponsored by HyperX, Twitch, Intel, AIS Fibre, Plan B Media and Singha Drinking Water.
Registration for the Toyota Masters starts on September 7.
Esports Insider says: Despite its fast growth, Southeast Asia is still considered an emerging region, events like the Toyota Masters are putting it on the map. Toyota is one of the many companies putting time and resources into esports across the region. If more companies decide to support these tournaments, Southeast Asia could become an esports destination in the years to come.