DreamLeague S23 participants and preview

The qualifiers for DreamLeague S23 ended last week and we now know who will compete in this prestigious Dota 2 tournament. As usual, $1 million will be offered in prize money and the action will take place online, on the WEU server.

A total of 12 participants will get the chance to earn not only money and prestige but also EPT points. These points are relevant in determining the Riyadh Masters participants and, to some extent, the teams who get invited to The International 13.

The Importance of DreamLeague S23

For some, it may feel like Riyadh Masters 2023 and The International 12 happened just a few months ago. In reality, we’re just five months away from TI13 and just three months away from Riyadh Masters 2024.

Based on the announcements that have been made so far, DreamLeague S23 will be the last $1 million tournament before Riyadh and TI. This greatly increases its importance not just for the participants but also for Dota 2 fans around the globe.

In 2023, the final part of the season belonged entirely to Team Spirit. They won Riyadh Masters, DreamLeague S21, and then The International. Up until that point, Gaimin Gladiators had dominated the entire season, winning all DPC Majors and plenty of other tournaments. But Spirit peaked right at the perfect time and stole the biggest trophies and prizes.

This time, it looks like Team Falcons will be the team to do it. Their formidable roster, combined with the fact that we’re dealing with a chaotic professional scene that mostly lacks formidable competitors, creates a great opportunity for Falcons. They could become one of those teams that appear overnight and win the Aegis of Champions.

Some of the team members have already accomplished this performance a few times. In Aui_2000’s case, we have someone who won The International not only as a player but also as a coach, which is a remarkable performance.

Dates and Format

DreamLeague S23 is scheduled to take place between May 20 – 26. Its format will be the usual one: group stage followed by playoffs.

In the group stage, the teams are divided into two groups of six and play one best-of-two match against every other team from their group. The top two teams advance to the upper bracket. The next two teams advance to the lower bracket. The bottom two teams are eliminated.

The playoffs will be played using the double-elimination format. Every match is a best-of-three series, apart from the final one.

Participants

Here are the 12 teams that will compete in DreamLeague S23:

• Team Falcons
• BetBoom Team
• Gaimin Gladiators
• Xtreme Gaming
• Team Liquid
• PSG Quest
• Natus Vincere
• Tundra Esports
• Azure Ray
• HEROIC
• Aurora
• Shopify Rebellion

Seeing Natus Vincere and HEROIC on this list, one might think that this is a Counter-Strike 2 tournament. But that’s not the case. After a long absence, Na’Vi are back with a new and improved roster that proved capable of winning the EEU Qualifier despite facing opponents like Team Spirit and Virtus.pro.

As for HEROIC, they decided to enter Dota 2 at the start of 2024. They signed some exceptional South American players and quickly became the number 1 team in the region. Because of this, they are now able to compete in international tournaments of the highest caliber.

Favorites

This is going to be a very challenging event. The favorites are not hard to guess, but all of them will face tough opposition from the rest. So it’s difficult to say from the start that a certain team will win.

So far, Team Falcons have demonstrated that they understand the meta better than anyone else. But you can never know when Gladiators or Xtreme Gaming will start playing at their maximum level.

Team Falcons

DREAMLEAGUE 22 CHAMPIONS! 🏆🦅

BACK TO BACK T1 Trophies for Falcons DOTA 2!#FalconsAreHere #RoadToRiyadh pic.twitter.com/l1n82qp7Lz

— Falcons Esports (@FalconsEsport) March 10, 2024

Falcons already won two important tournaments this season: BetBoom Dacha Dubai and DreamLeague S22. Because of these results and their formidable roster, they should be regarded as a top contender at every Dota 2 tournament.

With the exception of Malr1ne, who is still just 19 years old and not fully tested, everyone on the Team Falcons roster is a highly skilled, highly experienced, and highly accomplished player.

In the case of Malr1ne, the fact that he went from 10.000 MMR in November 2021 to 13.000 MMR in March 2024 is a clear sign that he is one of the most talented players of his generation. Very few players can reach 13.000 MMR.

The difficulty of achieving this height is created not just by the high level of competition on every major server, but also by the randomness of the teams and the drafts that you’re exposed to. In professional matches, you play with a stable team and know exactly what you want to do. People think in a team-based manner. But in pubs, it’s chaos.

Adaptability plays a huge role in this type of environment and a player like Malr1ne would not have been able to climb so high without a formidable level of skill and determination. Anyone who plays Dota 2 understands very well how frustrating it can be to lose games because of smurfs, account buyers, ragers, or just silly mistakes.

Malr1ne had to go through the same process to reach the top 10 on the European server. There are only around a dozen players who have ~13.000 MMR, so that’s the Mount Everest of Dota 2 right now. And there’s little hope that anyone will reach 14.000 MMR in the next few years.

Gaimin Gladiators

Yo lads! @GaiminGladiator is making new content for a platform that will launch soon. (BTS/Cool videos!)

Let me and GG know what type of stories/video’s you would like to see in the comments and you get a chance to win a FREE ticket to ESL Birmingham!

I hope to see you there!🍀 pic.twitter.com/WsWcIZEJQk

— Melchior Hillenkamp (@Seleri4096) March 24, 2024

Gaimin Gladiators dominated the first two thirds of 2023. Now they are struggling to keep up with some of their competitors, despite keeping their roster intact. Perhaps some of the players lost their motivation to win. Or perhaps some of their competitors are simply much hungrier at the moment.

What is certain is that at BetBoom Dacha Dubai, Gladiators finished 5^th –  6^th. And then, at DreamLeague S22, they finished 5^th again. The meta hasn’t changed very much in the last few months, so if Gladiators want to improve their results, they need to figure out what they’re missing and how the other competitors managed to win against them.

It’s not a matter of individual skill. At this level, individual skill is pretty much taken for granted. Quinn, for instance, is currently in the top 3 on the European server at the individual level. His MMR is incredibly high and it’s safe to assume that very few people in the world understand the game in its current state as well as he does.

But Dota 2 is more than just individual prowess. Teamwork and mentality often play a much bigger role. Will Gladiators prove to be capable of beating everyone again?… We’ll have to see.

Xtreme Gaming

Xtreme Gaming have players like Ame, who have attained the highest level of excellence at the individual level, and have won many important trophies in their career. But so far, Xtreme have not managed to beat the world’s best teams. The upcoming Dota 2 events will give them a chance to do it.

They and Azure Ray are the two Chinese representatives. If China is to remain the second-best region in the world, one of these two teams will need to step up their game.

Header: ESL