New dates announced for ESL Challenger Rotterdam open qualifiers

With ESL Challenger Melbourne set to run from the 2nd to the 4th of September, teams will have the opportunity to qualify for the next ESL Challenger event not long after. ESL announced via Twitter that the first open qualifier for ESL Challenger Rotterdam will take place from the 6-7th of September. The second open qualifier will take place the following weekend from the 14-15th. The change comes after it was noticed that the first qualifier conflicted with Fragadelphia 17.

The winning team from each open qualifier will still have a ways to go when it comes to qualifying. With only one North American spot up for grabs at the Dutch event, two invited teams will join the two winners of the open qualifiers, where they will battle it out for the one available spot. The event will have eight teams in attendance, with four teams being invited. The other four teams will have to earn their spots in similar qualifiers to that of the North American one, with South America, Europe, and South Africa all guaranteed representation in Rotterdam.

While by no means the most prestigious event run by ESL, the Challenger events have quickly become an exciting opportunity for teams who aren't quite ready for tier one to gain some valuable stage experience. With ESL Challenger Melbourne quickly approaching, it will present such an opportunity for EG.PA, who will be in attendance alongside strong teams such as OG, paiN, Imperial and Entropiq.

ESL Challenger Rotterdam will take place from the 14-16th of October. Players can sign up here.