DreamLeague Season 21 is over, so everyone will focus on the upcoming The International 12. Dota 2’s largest and most important tournament will begin soon, so expect to learn more about the teams. We will also provide daily predictions regarding the key matches you should consider.
However, this article will be devoted to DreamLeague Season 21 and everything that happened in it. The last event before TI is vital for the best teams in the world because they can test new tactics. We’ve seen that some squads have performed much better than others, so here’s what you need to know about the event and its conclusions.
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Team Spirit is TI 12’s likely favorite
Dota 2 fans remember Team Spirit’s legendary run at The International 10 two years ago. No one believed in the Eastern European powerhouse, but TS was incredibly strong and defeated everyone. As a result, Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk’s team won The International 10 and secured the biggest reward in eSport’s history.
Two years later, it seems like Team Spirit may become the second time outside of OG that can win two TIs. Following the club’s incredible results at the Riyadh Masters 2023, Team Spirit won DreamLeague Season 21 after an impressive run.
Team Spirit finished this tournament without losing a single series. The squad came first in Group B, after which it dealt with Tundra Esports and Shopify Rebellion. Interestingly, TS met the North American powerhouse twice because it also played against them in the grand finals.
Shopify Rebellion is very dangerous
There is no arguing that the North American Dota 2 scene is not as good as it once was. However, there is one beacon of hope, and its name is Shopify Rebellion. Even though the legendary Dota 2 team couldn’t achieve any impressive results through 2023, things seemed a lot better for the club in the last two events.
Following the exciting results at the Riyadh Masters 2023, Shopify Rebellion reached the final of DreamLeague Season 21. Like Team Spirit, the club finished first in Group A and advanced to the playoffs, defeating BetBoom Team. Sadly, SR lost its match against Team Spirit, so it had to go up against BetBoom Team again. After defeating the Eastern European squad, Artour “Arteezy” Babaev and the rest of his team reached the Grand Final, where they had the chance to take revenge. The bad news is that this did not happen because Team Spirit defeated the mighty North American squad.
Despite not winning DreamLeague Season 21, there is no arguing that Shopify Rebellion is on a good streak. The roster looks incredibly dangerous, and by the looks of it, it will be one of the hidden favorites at The International 12. We are yet to see what will happen once this Dota 2 event arrives.
Team Liquid needs to focus on The International 12
All Dota 2 fans know that Team Liquid is one of the biggest favorites for The International 12. The club’s results in 2023 have been impressive because Liquid reached numerous grand finals. Although the club couldn’t win any of them after losing to Gaimin Gladiators, it has played well.
Sadly, the leading Western European powerhouse seems to be in some kind of a problem because its most recent results haven’t been that impressive. Liquid did not impress us with its performance at the Riyadh Masters 2023; the same happened at DreamLeague Season 21. Even though we expected the club to be one of the favorites, Liquid could not live up to its fans’ expectations.
The team’s results in Group A at DreamLeague Season 21 were horrific because the squad finished without winning a single game. In fact, it secured 2 draws and 3 losses, which meant it finished second-last, resulting in an elimination. Hopefully, the team will be able to bounce back for TI 12.
Gaimin Gladiator Will Need to Work Hard
Everyone can agree that Gaimin Gladiators is the team that impressed Dota 2 fans the most because it won pretty much all big Dota 2 tournaments in 2023 except for the last 3. Gaimin Gladiators became the only team to win 3 Majors in one DPC, so it’s no surprise that many people consider it the best in the world.
That said, Gaimin Gladiator’s results in the last couple of tournaments haven’t been that impressive. Sure, the team performed reasonably well at the Riyadh Masters 2023 but couldn’t do the same at BetBoom Dacha. We expected to see Quinn “Quinn” Callahan and the rest of his crew dominate at DreamLeague Season 21, but this wasn’t the case.
GG was in Group B, where it finished 3rd after 2 wins, 2 losses, and 1 draw. The third place allowed the squad to play in the Lower Bracket, where it met Entity. Even though Gaimin Gladiators were the favorites in this clash, Entity won and eliminated the WEU powerhouse. In other words, Quinn’s crew will need to work hard if it wants to be one of the leading contenders to win The International 12.
Vengeful Spirit and Treant Protector are Dominating the Meta
DreamLeague Season 21 was played on the Dota 2 patch 7.34c, which included a lot of buffs and nerfs regarding some heroes from the previous patch. Although we expected to see changes following BetBoom Dacha, this wasn’t exactly the case because heroes like Vengeful Spirit dominated the meta.
What’s interesting about this Agility hero was that she became the most picked hero in the game. Her win rate is also impressive, so there’s a good chance we will see her in action during TI 12.
The second hero that impressed us with its result was Treant Protector. In fact, he became the most successful hero at DreamLeague Season 21 if we consider the number of picks. Treant’s a fantastic overall support we will see more of at TI 12.
