ROG Masters 2017 tournament pits professional esports teams against amateur players

Esports isn't just for professionals who make a living playing their games of choice. The scene is filled with amateurs who aspire to reach the next level. ROG Masters 2017 gives them the opportunity to go toe-to-toe with the best players on the big stage. We're running parallel CS:GO and Dota 2 tournaments that mix the top amateur and professional teams from across the globe. The competition culminates in separate grand finals for each game, with a $500,000 USD prize pool split between them.

ROG Masters 2017 begins this month with open qualifiers in 30 countries. This round is meant for amateurs, and the top teams will advance to regional qualifiers divided by continent. The team that comes out ahead in each region will earn a berth in the next round, where they'll join a collection of professional teams vying for limited spots in the final round. Over 20 professional esports teams from around the world are slated to join the tournament for this phase.

Professionals and amateurs will do battle at the regional level to determine who gets a seat in the grand finals scheduled for November. Only six teams per game will advance to the last round of the competition: two each from the APAC and EMEA regions, one from the Americas, and one from China. Most would expect the pros to prevail, but the format provides a great opportunity for amateur teams to overcome the odds and surprise everyone.

Check out the ROG Masters 2017 site for more details on the tournament and the open qualifiers in your region. And hit the link below for the official press release. When the competition begins, you'll be able to stream the action live on this page. You can also follow ROG Masters on Twitter.