Golf and esports for the win! Buckle up for an enthralling weekend of sports/esports!

Men’s golf major: The Masters 2022

Calling all golf enthusiasts! The long-awaited 2022 Masters Tournament is upon us and will take place from Thursday, April 7 to Sunday, April 10 at Augusta National Golf Club, as always. However, there’s been a slight change to proceedings this year as the course has been tweaked slightly: the length of the 11th (“White Dogwood”) and the 15th (“Firethorn”) holes have been increased, bringing the total length of the course to a record 7,510 yards.

Now, let’s have a look at a few players who have secured a spot to play in this famous invitation-only championship. First off, Tiger Woods, five-time Masters champion, has been placed on the provisional list of competitors, so it seems there may yet be a chance of seeing him play despite his accident last year. We also have confirmation that Hideki Matsuyama will be back after his triumph at last year’s tournament, where he finished with a score of ten under par, becoming the first Japanese professional golfer to win the green jacket.  A whole host of other former winners will also be in the mix, including Dustin Johnson, Fred Couples, Sandy Lyle, and Bubba Watson, just to name a few, and all of them will no doubt be itching to get that green jacket back!

Astonishingly, five players, possibly the last invitees, were also offered a place on Monday, March 28. The lucky recipients are Thomas Pieters, Harold Varner III, Seamus Power, Russell Henley, and Cameron Young, all of whom gained their places by virtue of the fact that they are ranked among the top 50 golfers in the world.

2022 ESL Pro League Season 15

However, if pistol rounds and frags excite you much more than going the whole 18 holes, [DR1] then there’s also plenty of excitement in store this weekend as the ESL Pro League Season 15 continues to wow us with thrilling matches. It’s proven to be a rollercoaster of a season so far, and the playoffs should be no different, so get the popcorn in and get ready for some serious entertainment.

Out of the 24 teams, which have been split into 4 groups of 6, only half will reach the playoff stage and fight each other for a chance to win a slice of the $823,000 prize pool at ESL’s studio in Düsseldorf, Germany. At the time of writing, all of the groups have been decided, except Group D where the likes of Natus Vincere, Astralis and Heroic will battle it out to reach the latter stages. It’s hard to see any of the aforementioned teams being knocked out at the group stage, but as the pressure to perform mounts with each new match, anything is possible.

Looking ahead to the playoffs, big hitters such as FaZe Clan and Movistar Riders have already booked their places in the knockout stages, which will no doubt be music to the ears of ESL fans worldwide.

However, this season has also seen the emergence of several new challengers, who have already announced their arrivals on the big stage and will be eager to lay down a marker here! Ninjas in Pyjamas, for example, made a huge statement of intent by outperforming G2 in the group stage and are now firmly in the running to bag a cash prize. Another potential “dark horse” could be FURIA, who signalled that they are not to be taken lightly after a strong showing in the group stage where they won 4 out of 5 matches. Finally, Denmark’s very own Heroic are also in with a chance of grabbing their share of the prize pie (provided they can make it out of Group D, that is)

So, stay tuned, as the play-offs are set to be as eventful as ever!

Dota Pro Circuit: Season 2

Last but not least, as if one gripping esports tournament wasn’t enough, there’s also another one going on at the moment (which will last until April 23) in Southeast Asia. What is this mysterious tournament of which you speak, you ask? Well, you’ve guessed it, it’s the Dota Pro Circuit Season 2! All the teams will be competing to take home their share of a $280,000 prize pool. In terms of picking a favourite, it’s quite difficult as the teams are extremely well-balanced this year, each featuring a great combination of major players, experience, and strategy, making the outcome difficult to predict.

However, an organisational setback means that the regional league will pause in China as a strict lockdown has been imposed, with the tournament now aiming to take a break between the 29th of March and the 8th of April.