After a relatively slow eSports month, April is ready to kick things into high gear, with major tournaments across three top-tier eSports tournaments.
April will feature highlights from Dota 2, with two of its premier-level tournaments taking place throughout the month, but there will also be some meet-ups to look forward to for other eSports as well.
Without futher ado, here are the best tournaments to watch for the biggest eSports:
Dota 2
The Kiev Major
Date: April 27 – 30
Prize Pool: $3,000,000
Where to Watch: Dota 2 Major YouTube Channel
Dota 2's Kiev Major is one in a series of four seasonal Premier tournaments that happen throughout the year. The "Major" tournaments are the second-most lucrative Dota 2 tournaments, each with $3,000,000 prize pools, with only Dota 2's annual International Tournament surpassing that amount (last year by a factor of six, but still).
This number also makes it the most lucrative tournament in April by far, even such that the Winner of the Kiev major will take home more money ($1,000,000) than any other tournament will be paying out in total to all teams that participate. The best part is that it's already past its qualifier stages. The group stage will happen mid-April, but on April 27, they're playing for keeps.
Dota 2 Asia Championships 2017 – Main Event
Date: April 1 – 4
Prize Pool: $576,950
Where To Watch: Twitch.Tv/PGL_Dota2
The other big Dota 2 tournament in April is also a Premier-series tournament, with a prize pool of $576,950 (a half a million base augmented by in-game cosmetic sales). The 2017 Asia Championships will be ready to rumble the very first day of April, featuring several of the teams who are also competing in the Kiev Major, including Wings Gaming, OG and Team Faceless.
League of Legends
North American League Championship Series (NA LCS) Playoffs
Date: April 8 – 9 (Quarter Finals), April 14 – 16 (Semi-Finals), April 22 – 23 (Finals)
Prize Pool: $200,000
Where to Watch: Twitch.tv/RiotGames
Official Site
The NA LCS spring split has been going on since January, and it's about to pay out $200,000 to the those teams that place high enough. This tournament will also earn these League of Legends teams championship points, which will go toward qualification to the annual World Championships.
Counter-Strike Global Offensive
StarLadder i-League Star Series Season 3 Finals
Date: April 4 – 9
Prize Pool: $300,000
Where to Watch: Twitch.Tv/starladder_cs_en
Official Site
Having already completed the StarLadder i-league Season 3 for Dota 2, Star Series is closing the book on Season 3 for CS:GO as well. Paying out $300,000, it's one of the more lucrative tournaments for a shooting game, although they have yet to annouce just how that money will be split among the winners, runners-up and semi-finalists.
Various Games
DreamHack Austin
Date: April 28 – 30
Prize Pool: Varies (See below)
Where to Watch: Twitch.Tv/DreamHackCS, Twitch.Tv/StarCraft
Official Site
DreamHack Austin will feature a duo of Blizzard games and another tournament for CS:GO. StarCraft II and CS:GO will each have a $100,000 tournament taking place, whereas Hearthstone will pay out $25,000 to winners.
It seems the only way to Watch the Hearthsone portion will be to actually attend the even in Austin Texas, where they are still booking Hotels at a relative discount. But anyone attending the event will also have the opportunity to compete and win some real money.
