DreamLeague is one of the most iconic Dota 2 tournament series, and this will be its 25th season. Furthermore, it will also be the third event of ESL Pro Tour’s S3. The event will take place around a week from now, so let’s dive in and learn more about it.
Contents
DreamLeague Season 25 Overview & Prize Pool
Like previous DreamLeague tournaments, this will be an online competition held on the Europe West server. The competition will include a round-robin group stage, as well as a double-elimination playoff.
Those interested in following this competition must tune in between February 16 and March 2. Like other similar Dota 2 events, this one will have a $1,000,000 prize pool and welcome a total of 16 teams.
Speaking of the DreamLeague Season 25 prize pool, $750K out of that is a part of the Player Prize Money. The other $250K is a part of the Club Reward. Alongside the money, teams will also compete for a total of 20,440 EPT points.
Format
If you learn more about the DreamLeague Season 25 format, you will see that it is similar to before. Twelve out of the 16 teams received an invitation, whereas 4 secured their slots via the EPT Leaderboard. That is why teams try to earn as many points as possible.
In terms of the Group Stage, there will be two of them. The first one will take place between Feb. 16-19 and will have two single-robin groups, each of which will have 8 teams. Each series will have two games, and the top 4 from each one will advance to the second group stage. Those that remain under the line will be eliminated.
Moving on to Group Stage 2, it will be between Feb. 21-27. The surviving teams from the first DreamLeague S25 Group Stage will play in a single round-robin format with Bo3 games. Once the group is over, the best 2 teams will go to the Upper Bracket in the playoffs. Those that finish 3rd and 4th will go to the Lower Bracket and the rest will be eliminated.
When it is time for the playoffs (March 1-2), there will be a double-elimination bracket. All series prior to the Grand Final are in Bo3, whereas the latter is in Bo5.
DreamLeague Season 25 Teams & Group Stage
Considering that the tournament will give us access to 16 teams, it is no surprise that we will see all the big names here. We already know all the squads in each group, so let’s check the first one.
Group A
Once it is time for the DreamLeague Season 25, the first group will have the following teams:
- 9Pandas
- BetBoom Team
- Shopify Rebellion
- HEROIC
- Team Falcons
- Xtreme Gaming
- Tundra Esports
- Moodeng Warriors
Considering the most recent results from BLAST Slam II, we can safely say that Tundra Esports and Team Falcons are the two favorites. These two Dota 2 powerhouses are in a league of their own right now and will most likely dominate in the group and the playoffs.
Other teams here that deserve more attention include BetBoom Team and HEROIC. Both have proven that they can upset the “status quo” and surprise their opponents.
Moodeng Warriors is probably one of the more interesting squads in this group. The SEA powerhouse consists of some of the best in the region, so it will be very interesting to see if it can upset the favorites.
Group B
Although the first DreamLeague Season 25 group is exciting, the second one also has pretty impressive names. Players can find the following:
- PARIVISION
- AVULUS
- Team Spirit
- Gaimin Gladiators
- Chimera Esports
- Team Liquid
- BOOM Esports
- Yakult Brothers
If we have to point out the favorites in this group, we need to focus on Gaimin Gladiators. Despite not being as impressive as before, GG continues to be among the best in Dota 2.
Blix.gg believes the same can be said about Team Liquid. Sure, the WEU powerhouse hasn’t won a significant event in a while, but it is always among the best. Moreover, Liquid almost always performs really well at DreamLeague.
The last two teams that should be included here are PARIVISION and Team Spirit. Eastern Europe is one of the best Dota 2 regions right now, and these two teams are among the best in the world.
Talents
DreamLeague Season 25 will give us access to all of the top-tier Dota 2 talents that we are used to. Those who want to follow the broadcast will notice the following names:
- Sheever
- Tsunami
- Jenkins
- NatTea
- BSJ
- Ephey
- Lacoste
- Purge
- Fear
- Cap
- ODPixel
- SVG
- Gunnar
All of the Dota 2 talents for DreamLeague Season 25 were announced on Feb 5, so we do not expect to see any changes. If that happens, however, we will make sure to include everything new.
Closing Thoughts
DreamLeague Season 25 is going to be an event that you should definitely follow. Considering the big prize pool and the “quality” of the participating teams, we expect to see many amazing games. Make sure to follow Blix regularly because we will provide you with predictions about some of the most intriguing matches.