Since the announcement of a third season of Fragbite Masters, we have received a lot of different questions regarding the Counter-Strike: Global Offensive part of it. Today, we're glad to give out details about the whole tournament. Let's do this in a chronological order, starting with the qualifiers.
Qualifiers
As previously mentioned, the season will contain 16 teams battling for 300 000 SEK. Twelve of these are invites, who were
presented last week. The last four spots will be decided by two qualifiers where the top two qualify. Each qualifier will be played over two days — next week's Monday and Tuesday for the first qualifier, and the following Saturday and Sunday for the second. Sign-ups will be opened in the next couple of days.
Qualifier #1
Dates: 22-23 September
Slots: 128 (might increase if necessary)
Sign-up: TBA
Top two qualify!
Qualifier #2
Dates: 27-28 September
Slots: 128 (might increase if necessary)
Sign-up: TBA
Top two qualify!
Group stage
The main tournament starts with a group stage. There will be four groups of four teams, one qualified team in each group. The groups will be played double elimination, more commonly known as the GSL format. The difference from last year is that all matches but the first two in the group stage will be played best of three maps. The first two matches in each group will still be played best of one.
| Group A (1-2 October) | Group B (4-5 October) |
 NiP Gaming |  Na`Vi |
 LDLC |  mousesports |
 CPH Wolves | Team Dignitas |
 Qualifying team | Qualifying team |
| Group C (8-9 October) | Group D (11-12 October) |
| fnatic |  Virtus.pro |
| Epsilon | Titan |
| HellRaisers | Bad Monkey Gaming |
| Qualifying team | Qualifying team |
Double elimination playoffs
Just like the previous season, all teams from the group stage will advance to the playoffs. The top two teams in each group will earn themselves a place in the upper bracket, whilst the bottom two teams will start in lower bracket. Last year the lower bracket was played with a best of one format, but this year all lower bracket matches except the very first round is played best of three. Please note that the playoff is divided into three chunks of play-days as we don't want to collide with other tournaments.
| Playoffs: Part 1 | 14-16 October |
| Playoffs: Part 2 | 21-23 October |
| Playoffs: Part 3 | 28-29 October |
Four team LAN finals
The online phase ends when there are only four teams remaining in the tournament. These four teams will compete on LAN in the Fragbite studio in Stockholm, Sweden. Here, the upper bracket final, lower bracket final, consolidation final and grand final will be played over two days time. The grand final will be played best of five maps, starting at a 0-0 score. This means the team from the upper bracket won't have a map advantage, but only advantages in the veto process.
| 8 November | Lower Bracket Final & Upper Bracket Final |
| 9 November | Consolidation Final & Grand Final |
Prize distribution
As we really want to focus on our LAN finals, the 300 000 SEK prize pool is distributed amongst the top four finishers of the tournament. As previously mentioned, we will also provide the teams with travel and accommodation support worth 15 000 SEK, approximately 1 600 EUR, per team.
| 1. | 160 000 SEK | (approximately 17 350 EUR) |
| 2. | 80 000 SEK | (approximately 8 600 EUR) |
| 3. | 40 000 SEK | (approximately 4 300 EUR) |
| 4. | 20 000 SEK | (approximately 2 150 EUR) |
| Total: | 300 000 SEK | (approximately 32 500 EUR) |
Tournament schedule overview
| Qualifier #1 | 22-23 September |
| Qualifier #2 | 27-28 September |
| Group A | 1-2 October |
| Group B | 4-5 October |
| Group C | 8-9 October |
| Group D | 11-12 October |
| Playoffs: Part 1 | 14-16 October |
| Playoffs: Part 2 | 21-23 October |
| Playoffs: Part 3 | 28-29 October |
| LAN finals | 8-9 November |
22 days of Counter-Strike
As we've mentioned earlier, we have almost doubled our CS:GO days for the third season. Thanks to more best of three matches and the qualifiers, we have 22 days of Counter-Strike as opposed to last year's 12. All of these days will be broadcasted as well, meaning Anders Blume and Auguste "Semmler" Massonnat will shoutcast both qualifiers.
So, what are you waiting for? There's only seven days left until the first qualifier — grab your four best friends and start practicing!
