The European finalists are Dark Elites and SHLINGUE EVO, with Dark Elites currently tipped as the favorites. The team dropped only a single game during the LAN regionals, doing so in the very last match versus SHLINGUE EVO.

The North American finalists are EvolveHype and Vanquish. EvolveHype came into the regional finals as the favorites and they lived up to the name. Dropping one game along the way, they were the first to qualify for the grand finals. Vanquish followed after emerging victorious from the loser’s bracket.

Now, it is time to determine the world’s best monsters and hunters in the Evolve Proving Grounds tournament. The finalists will face each other onstage and deliver top-notch Evolve action. Who will earn the biggest share of the US$100,000 prize pool?

Tune in here on Wednesday June 17th at 16:00 Pacific to find out!

For all the latest information about the Proving Grounds tournament, be sure to visit the official website.

EvolveHype came as the big favourites into the grand final and have proved worthy of the title, not dropping a single game against their opponents.

The entire Evolve Proving Grounds tournament saw tons of exciting hunter-on-monster action and gave amateur players a chance to perform on esports stages and win large amounts of prize money. Be sure to keep an eye out for more Evolve tournaments in the future and follow ESL on Twitter! For more information about the game itself, visit the official website.

We talked to a few of the participants of the first cups, who all agree that this is an opportunity not to be missed. Austin “BIGG QUANTUM” Howell, who plays in team Mammoth Bird OP, said of the event: “It will be very thrilling, especially as for many of us it will be our first time at a livestreamed event.” As to how they ended up playing: as with many players who wind up going pro, they simply took a shot at it: “We are an extremely competitive group of gamers and really love Evolve, so when a tournament of this magnitude was announced it was only natural that we were going to compete.” On being asked of his expectations, BIGG QUANTUM remarked: “We expected to go against the best teams that the competitive Evolve scene has to offer, and that expectation has not gone unfulfilled. We have had very close games with several high level teams.“

Anthony “TH3BANISHED” Renard of team SHLINGUE EVO wanted to encourage other players to join, saying: “I think that this is an excellent idea and should be organized more often”. With US$100,000 and two trips to play Evolve onstage on the line, TH3BANISHED thinks that “everyone who likes the game should be in this tournament.” He summarizes what it takes to compete quite well by revealing his own preparations “Training every day with my team”.

In the end, it’s not just about the prize money and prestige: even if you don’t manage to qualify for the finals in Los Angeles, the qualifying cups are a great way to get competitive experience against your region’s top-tier teams.

All you need is to gather a team of five, sign up and and take part, regardless of whether you’ve played competitively before or not. It could be you and your friends who travel to Los Angeles to play in front of a live audience for a share of the massive US$100,000 prize pool!

The last qualifier is set to take place this Sunday the 17th of May, so if you’re lacking a team or players, be sure to visit the ESL Evolve forum to find others who also want to take a shot at this great tournament.

Find your teammates here!

Sign up for the EU qualifier here!

Sign up for the NA qualifier here!

For more information about the Evolve Proving Grounds tournament, visit the official website.

The four regional finalists were EvolveHype (who came into the tournament as the favorite after a dominating performance in the qualifiers), Mammoth Birth OP, Vanquish and Hyde in the Stink. In the end, it was the favorites who prevailed, and EvolveHype secured a slot in the grand finals along with Vanquish – check out how all the matches unfolded below.

Semifinals

Winner’s bracket

Loser’s bracket

We saw tons of exciting monster-on-hunter action, with most of the matchups going to the full five games. Favorite EvolveHype did not disappoint, and proved to be the most dominant team in the regionals. Joining them in the grand finals will be Vanquish, whose determination to get their hands on the second slot was also most impressive.

Watch the whole tournament here!

We now know all the Evolve Proving Grounds finalists! Dark Elites and SHLINGUE EVO from Europe will be joined by EvolveHype and Vanquish from North America, with all the teams to travel to Los Angeles to battle it out for their share of the US$100,000 prize pool. The final hunt will take place on Wednesday the 17th of June, so be sure not to miss it!

To stay up to date will all the important information about the tournament, be sure to visit the official tournament website as well as follow the ESL Evolve Twitter and Facebook page!

The tournament kicked off with a series of online qualifiers which determined which four teams would head over to the ESL studios in Cologne. Those teams will now battle it out for a slot in the grand final in Los Angeles, where they will strut their stuff in front of a live audience for the title.

A total of four online qualifiers took place, during which the participants earned points respective to their earned spot. The use of such a system means that even if a team lost one of the qualifiers they could still earn a ticket to Cologne by trying out in one of the other qualifiers.

The four European teams who will be facing each other in the LAN semifinals are:

• Dark Elite

• Omega Pack

• SHLINGUE EVO

• The Lonely Bastards

The prizes for the semifinal, meanwhile, are broken down as follows:

• First and second place: US$2,500 and an invitation to the grand final in Los Angeles, USA (with all travel expenses paid)

• Third place: US$1,500

• Fourth place: US$1,000

The Proving Grounds tournament is the biggest Evolve has seen yet, with all of the games to be livestreamed so that everyone can watch the top monster-on-hunters action. The matches will be brought to you by Leigh “Deman” Smith and DB Sinclair.

Tune in here on Sunday the 24th of May at 13:00 CEST!

To stay up to date will all the important information about the tournament and Evolve itself, be sure to visit the official tourney website as well as follow the ESL Evolve Twitter and Facebook page!

Schedule

Following the success of ESL’s Go4Evolve cups and the ladder system, the Evolve Proving Grounds tournament will feature eight online qualifiers (four European and four American) before the European and American LAN finals, which will be hosted at our Cologne and Burbank studios respectively.

Check out the schedule below:

• 26th April: 14:00 CET – EU qualifiers | 22:00 CET – NA qualifiers
• 3rd May: 14:00 CET – EU qualifiers | 22:00 CET – NA qualifiers
• 10th May: 14:00 CET – EU qualifiers | 22:00 CET – NA qualifiers
• 17th May: 14:00 CET – EU qualifiers | 22:00 CET – NA qualifiers
• 24th May: EU semifinals at the ESL studio in Cologne, Germany
• 31st May: NA semifinals at the ESL studio in Burbank, California
• The week of 15th June: Global Finale in Los Angeles

Online qualifiers

Competitors will be divided into two regions – North America (including Canada and Mexico) and Europe (all other countries not assigned to the North American region) – and all players with an Xbox Live Gold membership and an ESL account are eligible to enter.

The four winning teams as determined by the four weekly qualifying rounds, which will run from the 26th of April to the 10th of May, will also receive a trip to their respective semifinals. With each round having space for 128 five-player teams per region and the opportunity to take part in multiple qualifying rounds, it’s definitely worth testing your hunting skills if you think they’re up to scratch!

The prizes for the online qualifiers, provided by 2K, are as follows:

• First place: US$100
• Second place: US$50

Semifinals

There will be separate semifinals for Europe and North America, wherein the regions’ top four teams will fight it out for their share of the semifinal prize pool as well as an all-important invite to the Global Finale.

2K will be providing the following prizes for the Evolve Proving Grounds semifinals:

• First place: US$2,500 and an invite to the grand finale
• Second place: US$2,500 and an invite to the grand finale
• Third place: US$1,500
• Fourth place: US$1,000

In addition to the above, 2K will also pay for the travel and accommodation of all Evolve Proving Grounds tournament finalists for the Global Finale in Los Angeles, with fans able to watch the semifinals unfold live on Twitch.

The Global Finale

The Evolve Proving Grounds Global Finale is set to take place in Los Angeles during the week of June the 15th. There the top two teams from each regional semifinal will clash in front of a live studio audience for their share of a US$100,000 total prize pool provided by 2K, which will be broken down as follows:

• First place: $62,500
• Second place: $20,000
• Third place: $12,500
• Fourth place: $5,000

Be sure to tune in on Twitch to watch the epic Evolve Proving Grounds Global Finale live!

For more information on the Evolve Proving Grounds tournament series, visit the official website!

Sign up to the European Evolve Proving Grounds qualifier!

Sign up to the American Evolve Proving Grounds qualifier!