What is… Dota2 BlueZ Cup?

[vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″ el_class=”articlebody” css=”.vc_custom_1523270772654{padding-top: 10px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”3188″ img_size=”full” alignment=”center” css=”.vc_custom_1523949421398{margin-bottom: 0px !important;}”][vc_row_inner content_placement=”middle” css=”.vc_custom_1523350157423{margin-left: 20px !important;}” el_class=”cat-tag”][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″ css=”.vc_custom_1523351002838{background-position: 0 0 !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;}” offset=”vc_hidden-xs”][vc_custom_heading text=”News” font_container=”tag:h3|font_size:12|text_align:left|color:%23ffffff|line_height:1″ use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1523949490983{margin-top: 0px !important;padding-top: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 10px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-image: url(https://esportscentral.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Rectangle-26.png?id=2528) !important;background-position: center !important;background-repeat: no-repeat !important;background-size: cover !important;}”][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][/vc_column_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/4″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_custom_heading text=”What is… Dota2 BlueZ Cup?” font_container=”tag:h2|font_size:28|text_align:left|color:%23ffffff” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1523948548116{margin-top: 0px !important;margin-bottom: 0px !important;padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-color: #262631 !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”Chris ‘Sargon’ House” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:13|text_align:left” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1523950724949{margin-top: 0px !important;padding-top: 10px !important;padding-right: 10px !important;padding-bottom: 10px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;background-color: #2a2b37 !important;}”][vc_separator color=”custom” css=”.vc_custom_1523350609771{margin-top: 0px !important;border-top-width: 0px !important;padding-top: 0px !important;}” accent_color=”#3b455a”][vc_column_text css=”.vc_custom_1523949035481{margin-top: 0px !important;padding-top: 20px !important;padding-left: 20px !important;}”]Competitive Dota2 tournaments aimed at the amateur level in South Africa is a bit of a contentious issue. While it’s certainly important small teams get to compete against other small teams for a small prize pot, these are usually self-funded by teams (by way of an entry fee). In previous years, in at least a few instances, winning teams in such tournaments weren’t even been paid out by fly-by-night tournament organizers. More often than not, these teams never see a cent and the individuals who organized the event are never heard from again. The larger trusted tournament organizers seldom organize amateur tournaments were cash prizes are available for tier 2 sides, so teams can’t get a fix through that avenue either. The answer? Well, hopefully it’s Dota2 BlueZ Cup.

What is… Dota2 BlueZ Cup?

The Dota2 BlueZ Cup is an amateur only tournament with cash entry fees ($20 per team) and cash prizes paid out to the teams who come first and second. Registrations open on the 2nd of March and close on the 28th of March, with scheduling set to begin around the 6th of April. Teams that are in Second Division or lower (as ranked by VS Gaming) will only be eligible to sign up and participate. Any teams fielding players that are in higher ranked teams will be ineligible to play. The tournament format will start as group stages, with the top teams from each group moving into an elimination stage. You can head to their website here in order to register your team.

BlueZ Cup are working with Evolution Esports, probably to help them better navigate the local esports scene and players, ensuring only amateur teams participate. This could be a potentially great way to get amateur teams involved and invested into local esports, so I’m keen on the idea and hope it comes together (and ultimately pays out). I spoke to the organizer of the Dota2 BlueZ Cup, Riaan Beeslaar to ask a few questions about the tournament.

Q&A with BlueZ Cup

@Sargon Dota2: Tell us a bit about yourself and the Dota2 BlueZ Cup. 

Riaan Beeslaar: I own BlueZ Cup and Blue Monkey Magazine. I’m running the tournament with two of my friends, Nathan Dauth and Kurt Jonathan. We decided to host this cup because we’re not pro Dota players. We’re not that good, either. We also want to play in the competitive scene, but again and again we found when we entered tournaments we were always knocked out in the early stages by professional teams.

That’s a main reason for starting your own amateur tournament?

RB: Yes, we decided why not make our own cup for amateurs like us. That way we can all have a real chance to play and make the finals.

That sounds great. Why are you guys using PayPal for entry fees, along with using Dollars instead of Rand?

RB: A lot of things might change in the future, but I decided to go with PayPal for a very particular reason. I’ve been scammed many times with similar things in the past. There are tons of scams going on out there. I’m very sceptical and if I register anywhere for something that just appeared out of nowhere, I’d not want to provide my personal banking details. Using a trusted platform like PayPal is very secure and safe. Then if this cup is successful, we’d love to expand it to other countries. Using dollars just makes sense here.

So BlueZ Cup isn’t a scam?

RB: I didn’t think people would view us a scam, as I wasn’t aware how many tournament scams were out there. We’re serious, and we’re putting our reputations on the line. My name is attached to this, and I wouldn’t put my reputation on the line here if I wanted to scam people. It wouldn’t make sense to rob people with all my details available. This is really just a small competition for amatuer teams to participate in. We want to do a ton of these, so it wouldn’t make sense to scam teams.

Why did Evolution Esports get involved? 

RB: Evolution is an MGO focused at growing esports in South Africa – they are looking to bridge the gap in the esports scenes between the top level teams and the lower level teams. It just made sense for them to get involved with us to help make sure this cup is aimed at the right levels.

Why the focus on the amateur level, from Second Division and lower? 

RB: There are a lot of teams in Premier Division and First Division that are really well known and have really experienced players. They will even be able to give Masters teams a run for their money. Since there’s a prize pool, but you also pay an entrance fee, I don’t see it as being fair that an amateur team from Second Division comes up against a team they have zero chance of beating. We need it to be evenly contested in terms of skill, and this is the best way to do that. The recent VS Gaming qualifiers reseeding really shows that Second Division is a better cut off than First Division, Premier Division, or Masters.

Thanks for your time, good luck with the cup!

RB: Thanks! We’re hoping a ton of teams sign up and we can turn this into a regular cup.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″ offset=”vc_hidden-xs”][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”8″ style=”load-more” show_filter=”yes” element_width=”12″ gap=”10″ filter_style=”dropdown” filter_default_title=”Matches” filter_align=”right” filter_color=”blue” item=”2271″ initial_loading_animation=”none” grid_id=”vc_gid:1523950579176-f57decd4-b21e-5″ taxonomies=”71, 84, 86, 88, 90, 92, 94, 110″ filter_source=”category” el_class=”results” css=”.vc_custom_1523718064752{background-color: #30303d !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”ALL MATCHES” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:10|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1523611106929{padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 5px !important;background-color: #30303d !important;}” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fesportscentral.co.za%2Fall-matches%2F|||”][vc_empty_space][vc_basic_grid post_type=”post” max_items=”8″ style=”load-more” show_filter=”yes” element_width=”12″ gap=”10″ filter_style=”dropdown” filter_default_title=”Results” filter_align=”right” filter_color=”blue” item=”2271″ initial_loading_animation=”none” grid_id=”vc_gid:1523950579176-4dfac26e-3c46-5″ taxonomies=”76, 85, 87, 89, 91, 93, 95, 111″ filter_source=”category” el_class=”results” css=”.vc_custom_1523718077456{background-color: #30303d !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”ALL RESULTS” font_container=”tag:p|font_size:10|text_align:center|color:%23ffffff” use_theme_fonts=”yes” css=”.vc_custom_1523611113209{padding-top: 20px !important;padding-bottom: 5px !important;background-color: #30303d !important;}” link=”url:https%3A%2F%2Fesportscentral.co.za%2Fall-results%2F|||”][/vc_column][/vc_row]