Dota 2 DreamLeague Season 26: Key Details
Four teams secured their places via the EPT Leaderboard, while ten others advanced through regional qualifiers. In addition, the two finalists from ACL x ESL Challenger China have received direct entry into the event.
BLAST Slam III winner Tundra Esports has withdrawn from the tournament. With that development, NaVi Junior will take up their spot. Due to their absence, ESL has issued a 20% deduction from Tundra’s current EPT points.
| ℹ️ Tournament: |
Dota 2 DreamLeague Season 26 |
| 🧾 Format: |
S-tier LAN tournament with 16 teams and a few stages |
| 🗓️ Dates: |
Monday, May 19 – Sunday, June 1, 2025 |
Understanding 2025 Dreamleague Season 26 Dota 2
Sixteen teams will begin the tournament with a round-robin group stage. Following this opening phase, the competition will shift to a double-elimination format for the playoffs. Group Stage 1 will feature two round-robin groups of eight teams each. Matches in the first phase will be best-of-two. The top four teams from each group will advance to Group Stage 2, while the remaining teams are out.
Group Stage 2 will consist of a single round-robin group with eight teams. Matches in this stage will be best-of-three. The upper bracket of the playoffs will feature the top two teams from group stage 2. Teams that finish third and fourth will move to the lower bracket. The rest will exit the tournament. The playoffs will follow a double-elimination format. All matches will be best-of-three, except for the Grand Final, which will be best-of-five.
ESL has divided the prize pool into two parts ($750,000 as Player Prize Money and $250,000 as Club Reward). The breakdown is as follows: the first-place team will receive $250,000, while second and third place will earn $100,000 and $80,000, respectively. In addition to the prize money, teams will compete for 29,200 EPT Points, with the winning team receiving the largest portion.
