The Asian Champions League (ACL), the multi-title esports tournament created by Hero Esports, has confirmed that the Dota 2 tournament champions will secure a spot at the Esports World Cup (EWC).
With a total prize pool of $250,000 (~£193,983), the winner will take home $100,000 (~£77,593).
Asian Champions League Structure and Schedule Revealed
The ACL tournament will feature three stages to determine the winners, starting off with an Online Qualifier, running from March 7th to March 30th. Each week, there will be one champion produced that will then advance to the next stage.
In the following stage, the Season Finals, the four top teams from the Open Qualifiers will go up against four invited teams: Xtreme Gaming (XG), Team YB, and Tidebound, as well as a team yet to be unveiled, according to a press release.
The Season Finals will take place from May 1st to May 3rd.
The best four teams from the Season Finals will then head to the Grand Finals to determine the champion on May 16th. Aside from qualifying for the Esports World Cup, the winning team will also secure a slot at the upcoming Dreamleague S26.
Dota 2 is not the only ACL tournament that grants access to the EWC. Hero Esports previously announced that the winners of the CS2 and the Honor of Kings tournament will also head their way to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, later this summer.
Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Shanghai, Hero Esports is one of the biggest tournament operators in Asia. Throughout the past few years, the company has worked closely on global esports competitions such as the Olympic Esports Week, the 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games and the Esports World Cup.
Announced in September 2024, the ACL is a new competition run by the Asia Champions League Foundation, a division within Hero Esports. The event’s goal is to become a ‘benchmark for cloud-based, virtual, and immersive sporting tournaments.’
Featuring up to 10 game titles in its inaugural edition, the combination announced a combined prize pool of 15m RMB (~£1.67m).
