DreamLeague Season 26 Schedule, Teams, Format & Prize pool

DreamLeague Season 26 begins on February 16, 2025, with sixteen Dota 2 teams preparing to compete for a massive prize pool of $1,000,000 and the coveted ESL Pro Tour (EPT) Points. Here’s everything you need to know about the event.

Format

• Participants: 16 teams
  • Four teams invited from the EPT Leaderboard
  • Ten teams from the regional qualifiers
  • Two teams from ACL X ESL Challenger China
• Group Stage 1: May 19 to May 22, 2025
  • Two groups of eight teams each
  • Single round-robin format
  • Best-of-two games (Bo2)
  • The top four teams from each group advance to Group Stage 2
  • The remaining teams are eliminated
• Group Stage 2: May 23 to May 29, 2025
  • One single round-robin group of eight teams
  • The top two teams advance to the Playoffs upper bracket
  • 3rd and 4th place teams advance to the Playoffs lower bracket
  • The remaining teams are eliminated
• Playoffs: May 31 to June 1, 2025
  • Double elimination bracket
  • All games best-of-three (Bo3) except grand final
  • Best-of-five (Bo5) grand final

Sixteen Dota 2 teams will compete for glory at DreamLeague Season 25. The tournament is divided into three phases – Group Stage 1, Group Stage 2 and the Playoffs. Eight teams will be eliminated by the end of Group Stage 1, while eight teams advance to the next round.

The eight teams in Group Stage 2 will compete for four spots in the playoffs. Four teams will advance while the remaining four will bid farewell to the event. The ultimate showdown will be held between the remaining four teams in a double-elimination bracket format.

Prize Pool

• $1,000,000 Prize Pool
  • $750,000 Player Prize Money
  • $250,000 Club Reward
• 29200 EPT Points

DreamLeague Season 26 boasts a massive prize pool of $1,000,000. However, the total prize pool has been split into two parts – Player Prize Money and Club Reward. But more importantly, it also boasts the coveted EPT Points. These points are crucial in determining a team’s eligibility to get invited to the Riyadh Masters.

The Riyadh Masters is the culmination event for the ESL Pro Circuit, boasting an impressive prize pool of $5,000,000.

DreamLeague Season 26 Teams

• Parivision (EPT Leaderboard)
• BetBoom Team (EPT Leaderboard)
• Team Falcons (EPT Leaderboard)
• Team Liquid (EPT Leaderboard)
• AVULUS (WEU)
• Gaimin Gladiators (WEU)
• NAVI Junior
• Aurora Gaming(EEU)
• Nigma Galaxy (MESWA)
• BOOM Esports (SEA)
• Talon Esports (SEA)
• Shopify Rebellion (NA)
• OG.LATAM (SA)
• Edge (SA)
• Xtreme Gaming (CN)
• Yakult Brothers (CN)

DreamLeague Season 26 features some of the best Dota 2 teams in the world. These teams will bring top-notch quality Dota to the fans and keep them enticed for two weeks.

Group Stage Schedule

The DreamLeague Season 26 Group Stage 1 schedule has already been drawn, with 16 teams divided into two groups. Here’s how the schedule and groups look:

• Group A: Aurora Gaming, BetBoom Team, BOOM Esports, Nigma Galaxy, OG.LATAM, Shopify Rebellion, Team Liquid, Xtreme Gaming
• Group B: AVULUS, Edge, Gaimin Gladiators, NAVI Junior, PARIVISION, Talon Esports, Team Falcons, Yakult Brothers

Group Stage 1 will span across four days, and multiple games will be streamed simultaneously on multiple channels on YouTube and Twitch, with English being the official broadcast language.

The tournament looks top-heavy with WEU teams, but anything is possible over two weeks. We might be in for a surprise, or not, but it’ll be exciting nonetheless to witness epic matches unfold.

The full schedule is as follows:

Broadcast Talent

Here’s the list of the broadcast talent for DreamLeague Season 26.

The broadcast lineup boasts the best English talent in the competitive scene. They’ll keep the Dota esports community entertained throughout the event.

Stay tuned to BLAST for the latest tournament updates.