It’s make-or-break season.
DreamLeague S21 commences, just a few weeks before The International 2023 is due to begin. Gaimin Gladiators — winners of three Majors and countless events — are the team to beat. But perennial grand finalists Team Liquid will be eager to seek revenge against their WEU rivals, and Team Spirit’s big win at the Riyadh Masters have put teams on high alert.
The Aegis isn’t at stake — but there’s still a lot of money to be won, and a lot of pride on the line.
What is the Dota 2 DreamLeague S21 tournament?
Credit: Valve
The 21st season of DreamLeague is the second tournament of the inaugural ESL Pro Tour. Teams are fighting for a US$1 million prize pool, as well as valuable practice heading into The International 12.
This will be an online tournament running from September 18 to 24.
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The Dota 2 hero tier list (September 2023)
DreamLeague S21 group stage standings
Credit: Gamers8
Group A
STANDINGSTEAMGAME RECORDMATCH RECORD—9Pandas———Entity———Shopify Rebellion———Talon Esports———Team Liquid———Tundra Esports——
Group B
STANDINGSTEAMGAME RECORDMATCH RECORD—BetBoom Team———Evil Geniuses———Gaimin Gladiators———OG———Quest Esports———Team Spirit——
(Group stage standings will be updated after each round of games)
DreamLeague S21 group stage schedule and results
September 18
GROUP ATIME6 p.m. GMT +810 a.m. GMT3 a.m. PTTEAMRESULTSTEAMTeam Liquid—9PandasTundra Esports—Talon EsportsEntity—Shopify Rebellion
GROUP BTIME8:30 p.m. GMT +812:30 p.m. GMT5:30 a.m. PTTEAMRESULTSTEAMGaimin Gladiators—Team SpiritQuest Esports—BetBoom TeamOG—Evil Geniuses
GROUP ATIME11 p.m. GMT +83 p.m. GMT8 a.m. PTTEAMRESULTSTEAMTundra Esports—Shopify RebellionTalon Esports—9PandasEntity—Team Liquid
GROUP BTIMESeptember 19, 1:30 a.m. GMT +85:30 p.m. GMT10:30 a.m. PTTEAMRESULTSTEAMOG—Gaimin GladiatorsBetBoom Team—Team SpiritQuest Esports—Evil Geniuses
September 19
GROUP ATIME6 p.m. GMT +810 a.m. GMT3 a.m. PTTEAMRESULTSTEAMTalon Esports—Team LiquidEntity—Tundra Esports9Pandas—Shopify Rebellion
GROUP BTIME8:30 p.m. GMT +812:30 p.m. GMT5:30 a.m. PTTEAMRESULTSTEAMBetBoom Team—Gaimin GladiatorsOG—Quest EsportsTeam Spirit—Evil Geniuses
GROUP ATIME11 p.m. GMT +83 p.m. GMT8 a.m. PTTEAMRESULTSTEAMShopify Rebellion—Team Liquid9Pandas—Tundra EsportsEntity—Talon Esports
GROUP BTIMESeptember 20, 1:30 a.m. GMT +85:30 p.m. GMT10:30 a.m. PTTEAMRESULTSTEAMTeam Spirit—Quest EsportsOG—BetBoom TeamEvil Geniuses—Gaimin Gladiators
September 20
GROUP ATIME6 p.m. GMT +810 a.m. GMT3 a.m. PTTEAMRESULTSTEAMTeam Liquid—Tundra EsportsShopify Rebellion—Talon EsportsEntity—9Pandas
GROUP BTIME8:30 p.m. GMT +812:30 p.m. GMT5:30 a.m. PTTEAMRESULTSTEAMEvil Geniuses—BetBoom TeamGaimin Gladiators—Quest EsportsOG—Team Spirit
DreamLeague S21 playoffs schedule and results
September 21
Upper bracket semifinals
TEAMSCHEDULETEAM—9:30 p.m. GMT +8 | 1:30 p.m. GMT | 6:30 a.m. PT——September 22, 1 a.m. GMT +8 | 5 p.m. GMT | 10 a.m. PT—
September 22
Lower bracket round 1
TEAMSCHEDULETEAM—6 p.m. GMT +8 | 10 a.m. GMT | 3 a.m. PT——9:30 p.m. GMT +8 | 1:30 p.m. GMT | 6:30 a.m. PT—
Lower bracket quarterfinal
TEAMSCHEDULETEAM—September 23, 1 a.m. GMT +8 | 5 p.m. GMT | 10 a.m. PT—
September 23
Lower bracket quarterfinal
TEAMSCHEDULETEAM—6 p.m. GMT +8 | 10 a.m. GMT | 3 a.m. PT—
TEAMSCHEDULETEAM—9:30 p.m. GMT +8 | 1:30 p.m. GMT | 6:30 a.m. PT—
September 24
Lower bracket final
TEAMSCHEDULETEAM—6 p.m. GMT +8 | 10 a.m. GMT | 3 a.m. PT—
Grand final
TEAMSCHEDULETEAM—10 p.m. GMT +8 | 2 p.m. GMT | 7 a.m. PT—
(To be updated)
Format of DreamLeague S21
Credit: Talon Esports
The 12 competing are split into two groups of six, playing a best-of-two round-robin.
The top four teams from each group move on to the playoffs. The last two teams in each group are eliminated.
Teams are seeded according to their positions in the group starge — top two teams in the upper bracket, next two in the lower bracket.
The playoffs are a double-elimination bracket. All matches will be best-of-three, except for the best-of-five grand finals.
DreamLeague S21 prize pool
Credit: ESL
DreamLeague 20 has a US$1 million prize pool. But arguably, the bigger prize is a direct qualification to the US$15 million Riyadh Masters for the first-placed team.
STANDINGTEAMPRIZE MONEY1st—US$300,0002nd—US$175,0003rd—US$120,0004th—US$85,0005th-6th—US$57,5007th-8th—US$47,5009th-10th—US$30,00011th-12th—US$25,000
Teams competing in DreamLeague S21
Credit: Tundra Esports
12 teams will compete over the next week in this US$1 million tournament. We will be getting our first look at some revamped rosters as well, including Tundra Esports’ new midlaner Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen and OG’s Ivan “MinD_ContRoL” Ivanov.
Gaimin Gladiators
Team Liquid
Tundra Esports
Quest Esports
Entity
OG
Team Spirit
9Pandas
BetBoom Team
Talon Esports
Shopify Rebellion
Evil Geniuses
Where to watch DreamLeague S21
You can watch DreamLeague on the official Twitch and YouTube channels.
A total of three Twitch streams will be available during the group stage:
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