As the ESL African Championship crosses the hump of the tournament this weekend, a number of important dates are creeping up ever so closely - which all teams should be aware of.
Most importantly on the list, is that the 16 June matches between Bravado Gaming and VexxedPhoenix, and between EXDEE GAMING and Flipsid3 Africa have now been rescheduled to 13 June.
This will allow the players, casters and crew to enjoy the South African public holiday.
While that date change is important, the most important date that all gamers, viewers, and teams should be aware of, is the date for the finals of the South African leg of the CS:GO group stages.
That date has been confirmed as 1 July, and will determine who moves into the group stages for the second season, and eventually compete against the North African teams.
The top four South African teams will progress to season two's group stages, while the bottom four teams will enter into a relegation phase against teams from the second South African open qualifier. From there, the top eight teams will compete in the group stages for the second season.
Running concurrently to the South African legs, North Africa will also have a shot at entering into the grand finals.
After the North African open qualifiers and their own top eight group stages, the top two teams from North Africa will then face against the top two South African teams at the grand final at rAge in October.
But it's not just the grand final where teams can make some cash, as every stage of the tournament has a potential payout for teams. Whether teams place first in the group stages or eighth, they will walk away with something, as detailed below:
1st Place: $11400
2nd Place: $7600
3rd Place: $3800
4th Place: $1900
5th Place: $1520
6th Place: $1140
7th Place: $760
8th Place: $380
All the group stages and the final will be live streamed and can be viewed on the ESL Africa Facebook page and on the official ESL CS:GO Twitch website. If you want to rewatch (or watch the matches for the first time), you can check it out here.
We have also created an ESL African Championship hub, where you can view the current standings, all the fixtures and the latest articles for both the CS:GO tournament as well as the Hearthstone tournament.