DreamLeague Season 15 Preview

In the European region, the second season of Dota Pro Circuit 2021 is starting today. Just like last season, there’s an Upper Division and a Lower Division. Both of them will be interesting to watch, especially now that Vikin.gg and High Coast Esports are in the Lower Division. But I’ll only cover the Upper Division here.

DreamLeague Season 15 Upper Division

The Upper Division of DreamLeague Season 15 will have the following 8 competitors:

• Team Secret
• Alliance
• Team Nigma
• Team Liquid
• OG
• Tundra Esports
• Hellbear Smashers
• Brame

Team Analysis

Here’s a brief analysis of the teams and their chances.

Team Secret

Love them or hate them, Team Secret are indisputably the strongest team in Europe and one of the best Dota 2 teams in the world. Puppey and his crew finished season 1 in 1^st place and what’s even more impressive, they did it without losing a single match. The team did not manage to win the Singapore Major, but the result they got there (4^th place) combined with their regional victory pretty much guarantees their invitation to The International 2021.

At the moment, Secret is ranked 3^rd globally with 850 points. It’s hard to imagine a scenario in which 10 other teams manage to surpass them, even if they don’t do anything significant in season 2. But they probably will. Given the regional situation, Secret is by far the most likely competitor to win the Upper Bracket of DreamLeague Season 15.

Alliance

Alliance finished the first season in 2^nd place but then completely messed up at the Major, where they failed to qualify for the Playoffs even though 7 of the 8 teams survived the Group Stage. They were the 8^th out of 8 competitors.

Alliance’s lineup is quite strong but very inconsistent. The ceiling is high, because of the sheer talent of the individuals that make up the roster. But the floor is extremely low, because the team does not seem to have enough flexibility to adapt to any situation. So in some games, they win even though they should be losing. And in others they lose even though on paper they are much stronger than their opponent.

Overall, I think that Alliance will finish in the top 4 again.

Team Nigma

Now that Nigma has brought in a new player, I’m a bit skeptical about their chances. Sure, KuroKy is an amazing captain and most of his teammates are great, but I’m not sure what to say about iLTW. The player has competed for so many teams and nobody seems to regard him as a good fit for an entire season. They only want him as a temporary stand-in. Kuro decided to give him a chance, but he had to bench w33 in order to do it. It might end up working but I’m not convinced and I think the new lineup will struggle.

Team Liquid

Liquid finished season 1 in 4^th place and then got a modest result at the Singapore Major: 9^th – 12^th place. Their biggest quality is their consistency. This is a team that usually does well enough to qualify for whatever they need to qualify. And then they get an average result. But you can’t discard them because of that, just like you can’t assume that they will win. They’ll always be somewhere in the middle.

Going into DreamLeague Season 15, I expect Liquid to finish somewhere around 4^th – 5^th.

OG

Given the competitive climate and the fact that they are now reunited with ana, OG could potentially do something spectacular here. I don’t think they can win, because Team Secret is very strong. But I can see them finishing 2^nd and then doing really well at the second Major of the year.

OG finished season 1 in 5^th place and since then, their opposition has gotten weaker while they’ve gotten stronger. A lot stronger.

Tundra Esports

Tundra Esports upgraded their roster by bringing in Sneyking to replace Biver. The team finished season 1 in 6^th place and had a rough time against almost every opponent. Now, with their new roamer, they might find a bit more success than before. I still think that it’s going to be hard for them to succeed, but definitely not impossible. And keep in mind, all they need is to finish in the first half.

Hellbear Smashers

This is Ace and MISERY’s stack. MISERY has changed his alias again and is called rASmus. At almost 30, he probably wants to do something big before he retires. But can he, with his current teammates and against the giants of Europe? Personally, I don’t think so.

Hellbear Smashers is one of the underdogs in this tournament and I think they should be happy if they don’t relegate at the end of the season.

Brame

Brame is the other underdog of the tournament. You might recognize some of the players, including SkyLark and SsaSpartan. Even W1sh- is somewhat known in the Dota 2 community. But the lineup as a whole has no hope against the type of opposition they’ll have to face.

 

Photo credit: Valve