What to watch in esports: the first big tournaments of 2017
It can be tough to keep track of everything going on in the world of professional competitive gaming. Fear not: Each week, Mashable rounds up the best and biggest tournaments in esports to let you know when they're going down, and where to catch all the action. Plug in.
This weekend and following into next week, you're looking at the start of the first major Overwatch tournament of the year, a $250,000 Dota 2 tournament and one of the biggest annual speedrunning events in the world: Awesome Games Done Quick.
Check out what's going down in competitive gaming this weekend and next week below.
Speedrunning -- Awesome Games Done Quick 2017
When: Sunday starting at 11:30 a.m. ET and running nonstop to next Sunday at 1:10 a.m. ET.
Where to watch: Twitch.
The biggest charity speedrunning event in the world is back to kick off 2017 with seven days of nonstop speedrunning and money-raising for the Prevent Cancer Foundation. At Awesome Games Done Quick 2017, some of fastest gamers in the world will be playing through over 170 games throughout the week, exploiting glitches to beat games in mere minutes or racing through games to get 100 percent completion as fast as humanly possible. You can check out the full schedule of games, or cherry pick from our list of favorites.
Dota 2 -- ESL One Genting
When: Group stages Friday and Saturday starting at 10:30 a.m. MYT. Semifinals Sunday starting at 10:30 a.m. MYT. Finals Sunday starting at 5:55 p.m. MYT.
Where to watch: Twitch.
The first big Dota 2 tournament of 2017 -- ESL One Genting -- comes just weeks after the first Major of the season. Competing for the $250,000 prize pool are Summit 6 champions Virtus.pro, The International 6 champions Wings Gaming, Digital Chaos, Fnatic, Newbee, Team NP, WarriorsGaming Unity and Execration.
Overwatch -- Overwatch Winter Premiere
When: Tuesday to Thursday starting at 3:30 p.m. PT.
Where to watch: Twitch.
The $100,000 Overwatch Winter Premiere has started its group play stage as the eight qualifying teams battle for six spots in the second round of group play scheduled for the following week. Renegades, Citizen7, CompLexity Gaming, Immortals, FaZe Clan, Luminosity Gaming, Kungarna and Team Liquid are left in the tournament, with Renegades and Immortals currently sitting at the top of the pile after this past week's matches.
