DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca 2015
DreamHack Open Cluj-Napoca 2015 was the seventh "" that was held from October 28–November 1, 2015 at the Sala Polivalentă in Cluj-Napoca, Romania. It was organized by DreamHack with help from Valve and the Professional Gamers League. The tournament had a total prize pool of US$250,000. Eight teams were featured in the playoffs. Fnatic, G2 Esports, Luminosity Gaming, Natus Vincere, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Team EnVyUs, Team SoloMid, and Virtus.pro – all Legends from the last major – were once again Legends as no Challenger took their spots. Team EnVyUs, which defeated Fnatic and G2  Esports, was the winner of the event, defeating Natus Vincere, which defeated Luminosity Gaming and Ninjas in Pyjamas, in the finals, 2–0. This came after Team EnVyUs placed second at the previous major, including a game in which Fnatic came back from a large deficit in the first game of grand finals. Format. The top eight teams from ESL One Cologne 2015 ("Legends") received direct invitations to Cluj-Napoca. This was the first Major to fill the other eight Major spots from a single Major qualifier, instead of directly from various regional qualifiers. For the Cluj-Napoca Major cycle, the  regional qualifiers sent teams to DreamHack Open Stockholm 2015, where they faced off against the bottom eight teams from Cologne 2015. The top eight teams from DreamHack Open Stockholm 2015 then advanced to the Major as the "Challengers" Teams were split up into four groups, and all group matches were best-of-ones with the exception of the final decider match. The highest seed would play the lowest seed in each group and the second and third seeds would play against each other. The winner of those two matches would play each other to determine which team moved on to  the playoff stage, while the losers of the first round of matches also played. The loser of the lower match was then eliminated from the tournament. With one team advanced and one eliminated, the two remaining teams would play a best-of-three elimination match for the second playoff spot. This format is known as the GSL format, named for the Global StarCraft II League. The playoffs bracket consisted of eight teams, two from each group. All of these matches were best-of-three, single elimination. Teams advanced in the bracket until a winner was decided. Map Pool. The seven -map pool did not change from Cologne 2015. Before each best-of-one match in the group stage, teams alternated banning maps until five maps had been banned. One of the two remaining maps was randomly selected, and the team that that did not get a third ban then selected which side it wanted to start on. In all best-of-three series, each team first banned a map, leaving a five-map pool. Each team then chose a map, with the opposing team selecting which side they wanted to start on for their opponent's map choice. The two  map picks were the first two maps in the best-of-three. If the series were to require a third map, the map was randomly selected from the three remaining maps. Main Qualifier. Regional Qualifiers. Two teams from the first European qualifier moved on to the major. Eight teams that were eliminated in the said qualifier moved to the second European qualifier. Three teams from that qualifier moved on to the major. Two teams from the North American qualifier moved on to the major and one team from the Asian qualifier moved on to the major. Main Qualifier. The 16  teams at the major qualifier played at DreamHack Open Stockholm 2015. The bottom eight teams from ESL One Cologne 2015, five teams from two European qualifiers, two teams from the North American qualifier, and one team from the Asian qualifier. Teams were divided into four groups and the top two from each group made it to the major. DreamHack Open Stockholm 2015. The main qualifier took place at DreamHack Open Stockholm 2015. Group A Group B Group C Group D Broadcast talent. Hosts Interviewers Analysts Commentators Broadcasts. All streams were broadcast on Twitch in various languages. Teams. Prior to the  major, changes took place. Team Kinguin partner with G2 Esports and the players played under the G2 banner. After signing with G2 Esports, then known as Gamers2, Adil "ScreaM" Benrlitom leaves the team and joins Titan while Swiss player Mathieu "Maniac" Quiquerez was out of Titan. Joakim "jkaem" Myrbostad is then brought over from the Copenhagen Wolves to take ScreaM's place. The roster of Team eBettle played under the name Vexed Gaming due to the organization wanting to distance its eSports and betting operations. mousesports sign the young Bosnian Nikola "NiKo" Kovač and drop Timo "Spiidi" Richter from the  active roster. Team Liquid signs Spencer "Hiko" Martin and coach James "GBJame^s" O'Connor and release Kyle "flowsicK" Mendez. Team Dignitas release Nicolaj "Nico" Jensen and bring in Jesper "tenzki" Mikalski from SK Gaming for an undisclosed amount. Pre-Major Ranking. The HLTV.org October 26, 2015 rankings of teams in the major is displayed below. The ranking was the final one released before the major. It included tournaments up to PGL CS:GO Championship Series: Season 1, in which Team SoloMid defeated Virtus.pro in the finals, and DreamHack Open London 2015, in which Team EnVyUs defeated Team SoloMid in the finals . Playoffs. Quarterfinals. Team EnVyUs vs. Fnatic. "Casters: Anders Blume & Semmler" Virtus.pro vs. G2 Esports. "Casters: James Bardolph & ddk" Team SoloMid vs. Ninjas in Pyjamas. "Casters: Anders Blume & moses" Luminosity Gaming vs. Natus Vincere. "Casters: Sadokist & HenryG" Semifinals. Team EnVyUs vs. G2 Esports. "Casters: James Bardolph & ddk" Ninjas in Pyjamas vs. Natus Vincere. "Casters: Sadokist & HenryG" Finals. "Casters: Anders Blume & Semmler" Team EnVyUs won its first title. kennyS and apEX had their first major title and NBK-, kioShiMa, and Happy won their second title, their first being with Team LDLC.com at DreamHack Winter 2014. Final standings. Post-Major Ranking. The HLTV.org  November 3, 2015 rankings of teams in the major is displayed below. The ranking was the first one released after the major.