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DreamLeague Season 21 Overview

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DreamLeague Season 21 Overview

Here is a complete DreamLeague Season 21 overview as teams gear up to test their skills ahead of the International 2023

DreamLeague's 21st edition makes its grand return on September 18, marking the ultimate premier Dota event ahead of The International, set to kick off in October. A dozen of the world's top DOTA 2 teams are converging on Europe to vie for a staggering $1,000,000 prize pool, all online.

Here's a DreamLeague Season 21 overview, which includes details about the formats, participating teams, and, of course, the frontrunners expected to win the championship just one week from now.

DreamLeague Season 21 Overview and Format

DreamLeague Season 21 introduces a revamped format in contrast to its predecessor, DreamLeague Season 20. The tournament now begins with a single Group Stage. Given the tournament's concise seven-day schedule, both the Group Stage and Playoffs will be condensed into three and a half days, culminating in the Grand Final on September 24.

Group Stage

  • There are two separate single round-robin groups, each consisting of six teams.
  • Each match follows the best-of-two format.
  • The Playoffs' Upper Bracket will feature the top two teams from both groups.
  • The Lower Bracket of the competition will feature the 3rd-4th placed teams from both groups.
  • Both of the teams in the lowest positions will be removed from the event.

Playoffs

  • The playoffs are structured as a double-elimination bracket.
  • All matches follow a best-of-three structure, except for the Grand Final, where the format shifts to best-of-five.

DreamLeague Season 21 Teams

Twelve teams are set to participate in this prestigious international DOTA 2 event. Western Europe will be fielding six teams, while Eastern Europe will have three representatives, and North America, South America, and Southeast Asia will have one side each.

Teams from Western Europe

The professional Dota 2 arena recognizes Western Europe as a stronghold of elite teams, and among them, Gaimin Gladiators have achieved a truly exceptional feat. Their triple hat trick this season, with victories in the Lima, Berlin, and Bali Majors, positions them as a formidable contender in DreamLeague Season 21.

Other top positions on the EPT ranking system are predominantly occupied by the remaining Western European teams.

  • Gaimin Gladiators
  • Team Liquid
  • Tundra Esports
  • Quest Esports
  • OG
  • Entity

Teams from Eastern Europe

The Eastern European region showcases some formidable teams, with notable mentions like 9Pandas (formerly Ex-Hellraisers), BetBoom Team, and Team Spirit, the latter of which clinched the Riyadh Masters 2023 championship.

  • 9Pandas
  • BetBoom Team
  • Team Spirit

Teams from Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia is represented by a solitary team in the competition.

  • Talon Esports

Teams from North America

In North America, Shopify Rebellion stands alone as the region's sole representative. Despite a less-than-ideal performance in the 2023 DPC season, they have the chance to stage a grand comeback.

  • Shopify Rebellion

Teams from South America

Wrapping up the DreamLeague Season 21 team roster is South America, featuring the renowned Evil Geniuses.

  • Evil Geniuses

DreamLeague Season 21 undeniably presents a roster of intriguing names that are bound to captivate Dota 2 fans. It's evident, nevertheless, that certain teams hold a more favorable position, prompting us to explore potential favorites.

Gaimin Gladiators

Gaimin Gladiators, recently crowned champions at BatBoom Dacha, undoubtedly enter the tournament as the clear favorites. They have claimed victory in all three DPC Majors, with the last two editions of DreamLeague included. Although they secured a 4th place finish at Riyadh Masters, courtesy of Talon Esports, their season has otherwise been a resounding success.

Team Liquid

Team Liquid have not won any big trophies lately, but they have made a handful of high-profile grand final appearances.  Aydin “iNSaNiA” Sarkohi will hope to end their grand final woes at DreamLeague Season 21 and head to The International 2023 with renewed confidence.

Team Spirit

After claiming victory at Riyadh Masters 2023, Team Secret are determined to seize another championship. Although the road ahead may be challenging for the TI 10 champions, there's no denying their competence. The question that looms is whether they can meet the expectations of their loyal fanbase.

 

 

DreamLeague Season 21 Overview
The Old One
When he's not sighing at sub-standard teammates in Dota 2 and CS2, The Old One is writing about those two games (among other things). If you see his name around the site too many times for your liking, well, the guy just never stops writing. Yes, we've tried an intervention.