eXTREMESLAND 2020 announced for Oceania

eXTREMESLAND Asia, a staple in the Asia-Pacific Counter-Strike: Global Offensive calendar, will make a return in 2020 for its fifth edition — but not without necessary changes to its format.

With coronavirus travel restrictions still in place in much of the east, eXTREMESLAND will instead consist of individual regional events, held online, across the major sub-regions in APAC — Oceania, China, South-East Asia and the Middle East.

For Oceania, eXTREMESLAND is teaming up with InstaFrag to bring the coveted event down under in December. Four teams from the open qualifiers on December 11-13 will join the four invited squads, which will likely be Renegades, ORDER, AVANT Gaming & The Chiefs — the closed main event starting December 18.


The total prize pool of US $6,000 will be split equally between 4 out of 5 regions. First place will be US$1000, and second place is US$500.

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Established in 2016, InstaFrag, through the FACEIT client, provides a competitive atmosphere and a path to professional competition through its various leagues, ranging from open and amateur hubs to the InstaFrag Pro League. Most recently, InstaFrag expanded their league operations for VALORANT competitors of all skill levels.

eXTREMESLAND 2019 saw Grayhound Gaming and ORDER qualify for the offline finals in Shanghai last November, but scheduling clashes with ESL Pro League resulted in their non-attendance, with Ground Zero Gaming & Genuine Gaming taking their places.

TYLOO would go on to claim the 2019 championship over Chinese rivals ViCi Gaming, with both Oceanic representatives bowing out in the group stage. Despite running for four years, the APAC event remains as one of very few to be claimed by an Oceanic team.

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With the tournament penned for mid-December, eXTREMESLAND should be clear of clashes, rounding out a tumultuous 2020 CS:GO calendar for Oceania that has seen juggernauts Renegades emerge with an unprecedented seven titles.

Stay tuned to Here’s The Thing for the latest on the event and more.

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Credits:

• Written by Nicholas Taifalos
• Edited by Adam Taylor‍