Dota 2
Here’s what happened after the end of the Group Stage at DreamLeague Season 19.
Today marked the end of the DreamLeague Season 19 first Group Stage. As you can imagine, we’ve seen plenty of interesting matches so far, and there are a couple of teams that stand out. (Speaking of the teams, you can learn more about the participants by checking our DreamLeague Season 19 Viewer Guide, where we’ve covered all of them.)
The first Group Stage is over, which means that the best 8 teams have advanced to the second Group Stage. Some of them lived up to their fans’ expectations, whereas others disappointed them. That’s why we’ve decided to highlight both the squads that will move forward and those that are no longer a part of the event. Don’t forget to follow us for more information about DreamLeague Season 19 because we got tons of other matches to watch.
Group A
The first Group of DreamLeague Season 19 gave us access to many interesting series. Despite the fact that some of them surprised us, most of the results were as we expected. In the end, here are each of the squads that will advance to the second group, where they’ll be paired against other big names.
Evil Geniuses
The best team in South America proved yet again why many people like them so much. After dominating in their region, Jean "Chris Luck" Salazar and the rest had an excellent run in their Group and had hardly any problems.
EG scored a draw against TSM and won their series versus Team Aster on Day 1. On Day 2, the SA powerhouse defeated ex-HellRaisers and secured a draw versus Gaimin Gladiators. Once Day 3 arrived, EG defeated Entity and secured a draw against Shopify Rebellion.
Gaimin Gladiators
Aside from the South American team, The Lima Major 2023 champions are also one of the Dota 2 teams that we’ll see in DreamLeague Season 19’s Second Group. As expected, GG had hardly any problems, which is why it got 2 wins and 4 draws after the end of the first 3 days. This was enough for the team to secure a slot for the next stage.
Shopify Rebellion
The third name on the list is one of North America’s powerhouses. Most people expected Artour "Arteezy" Babaev and his team to have little to no problems in Group A because of their most recent performance. Despite the fact that SR got a few more draws than anticipated, the team secured a solid advantage, allowing them to finish in the Top 4 of the Group.
TSM
The last team qualifying for the next stage of DreamLeague Season 19 is TSM. Although the NA team was among the favorites, Timado and the rest had to go through the Tiebreakers to secure their spot. It wasn’t easy, but TSM eventually defeated Execration and Team Aster, earning them 4th place and a ticket for the second Group Stage.
The squads that didn’t make it From Group A
Most people weren’t surprised that Entity and Execration failed to qualify for the next stage of DreamLeague Season 19. However, the same can’t be said about ex-HellRaisers because they were one of the favorites in this tournament.
Following their flawless performance during the Eastern European 2023 DPC Tour 2 Division I, we thought ex-HR would have little to no problems. However, the reality was different. Roman "RAMZES666" Kushnarev and the rest made a lot of mistakes, resulting in their finish in the bottom half of Group A and elimination from the event.
Aside from ex-HellRaisers, Entity is another team that won’t be able to continue its journey at DreamLeague Season 19. The squad has had some problems lately, and this was reflected in their results. It will be interesting to see if the team will make any roster changes prior to Tour 3. After all, it was among the best Dota 2 teams in Western Europe previously.
Lastly, we have Team Aster and Execration. Although both were among the favorites, they weren’t able to deal with TSM in the Tiebreakers. Consequently, both teams finished in the bottom half of Group A, meaning they were eliminated from the tournament.
Interestingly, Execration began its Tiebreakers with a victory against Team Aster. Unfortunately, the SEA powerhouse wasn’t able to defeat TSM in their second game. This gave the NA squad the chance to play in the next series versus Team Aster, where they also won.
Group B
As for Group B of DreamLeague Season 19, some teams here definitely exceeded expectations. Unfortunately, two of the fan favorites weren’t able to show everything they’re capable of, which is why they were eliminated. Luckily, we’ll still be able to see a lot of big names for the next stage, so let’s go through them and learn more about each one.
Team Liquid
It’s safe to say that everyone expected Team Liquid to be among the top 4 teams that will advance to the next stage of DremLeague Season 19. Michał "Nisha" Jankowski and his team continued to dominate and had almost no competition, even on the international stage. The team finished first without losing a single match.
Team Liquid defeated Tundra in their first game and got a draw against Talon in the second one. After that, the Western European powerhouse dealt with OG, nouns, and Nigma Galaxy before taking another draw versus Team Spirit.
Tundra Esports
The second team from Western Europe that survived in Group B of DreamLeague Season 19 are the current champion of The International. Despite losing one match (versus Team Liquid), Tundra got 3 victories and 3 draws, which was enough for second place in the Group.
Beastcoast
The number 3 team from DreamLeague Season 19’s Group B is none other than beastcoast. The South Americans came away with only 1 win and 6 draws, which is why they had to fight in the Tiebreakers. Most people didn’t expect the squad to win against Team Spirit or OG, but BC stepped up their game and defeated TI 10’s champions. Allowing them to secure third place in the group and the chance to advance in the event.
OG
Against all odds, OG prevailed in the Tiebreakers and secured a slot for DreamLeague Season 19’s second Group Stage. Like BC, OG had to fight in the Tiebreaker and go up against none other than Team Spirit. In an epic match that lasted almost one hour, Bozhidar "bzm" Bogdanov’s Invoker carried his team to victory as OG secured the last spot in Group B.
Which teams are heading home from Group B?
When it comes down to Dota 2 teams that didn’t live up to the expectations at DreamLeague Season 19, everyone in Group B falls into this category. Starting with Talon Esports, the leaders in Southeast Asia were among the hidden favorites for the event. Unfortunately, Nuengnara "23savage" Teeramahanon and co. made tons of mistakes and weren’t able to do much. Following the first 3 days, the team got 4 draws and 2 losses, which meant it was heading home.
The second name on the list when it comes down to teams that disappointed their fans is for Nigma Galaxy. The powerhouse from Western Europe has the best roster on paper and even played with the legendary Amer "Miracle-" Al-Barkawi. However, even Amer and Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan weren’t enough for NGX to advance to the event's next stage. Hence, the team finished with just 1 win, 1 draw, and 4 losses.
The next squad heading home is nouns, which is not a surprise, most people probably expected David “Moo” Hull and the rest to be here. In fact, many Dota 2 fans were surprised that nouns even got an invite to the event in the first place, considering the team hasn’t been a part of a big international competition for some time now. Nouns came away with 3 draws and 3 losses, which means they will be heading back to North America.
Finally, we have Team Spirit, The International 10 champions, who many people expected to win this event. Despite being among the big favorites, Illya "Yatoro" Mulyarchuk and the rest failed to defeat their opponents in the Tiebreakers. After securing 2 victories, 4 draws and 1 loss, the squad lost 2 matches against OG and BC, which meant it finished 5th.
Sadly, we won’t be able to see one of Eastern Europe’s best teams in action.
Still, we’re expecting tons of interesting results from the rest of DreamLeague Season 19; the big final is just a couple of days away! Plus, the Berlin Major 2023 is right around the corner too. Be sure to stay tuned to keep up with all the latest Dota 2 news and highlights from both tournaments.
