Cologne/New York – On April 9, the next season of ESL FACEIT Group’s Dota 2 tournament, DreamLeague powered by Intel®, will begin, with 16 of the top organizations from across the globe competing for a share of $1,000,000 and the chance to qualify directly to the Group Stage of Riyadh Masters at Gamers8. 

Here is all you need to know about DreamLeague Season 19:

As part of the recently launched ESL Pro Tour for Dota 2, DreamLeague returns with a brand new format in Season 19. Each season, 16 of the best teams worldwide will compete online from their bootcamps in Europe for two weeks.

The 19th season will run from April 9 – April 23, where the 16 starting teams will be gradually whittled down to the champion, who will take home the lion’s share of the prize pool and qualifies for the Group Stage of Riyadh Masters taking place on July 17-30 as part of Gamers8.

Schedule & Format

Group Stage 1: April 9 – 12

• The initial Group Stage will feature two groups of eight teams, who will compete in a single round-robin format where all matches will be best-of-two
• The top four teams from each group will advance to the next stage

Group Stage 2: April 14 – 20

• In the second Group Stage, there will be one group of eight teams. The matches will be in the best-of-three format, with teams competing against each other in a single round-robin.
• The top two teams will advance to the upper bracket of the Playoffs, and the third and fourth-placed teams will advance to the lower bracket of the Playoffs

Playoffs: April 22 – 23

• The four teams will compete in a double elimination bracket, with all matches played in the best-of-three format, except the final, which will be played in the best-of-five format

Competing Teams

• beastcoast
• Entity
• Evil Geniuses
• Execration
• ex-HellRaisers
• Gaimin Gladiators
• Nouns
• OG

• PSG.LGD
• Shopify Rebellion
• TALON
• Team Aster
• Team Liquid
• Team Spirit
• TSM
• Tundra Esports

Commentators and Analysts

Desk/Co-hosts:

• Jorien “Sheever” van der Heijden
• Ted “Pyrion” Forsyth
• Andrew “Jenkins” Jenkins 
• Neal “Tsunami” Khandheria
• Trent “Trent” MacKenzie

Casters:

• Gareth “Gareth” Bateson 
• Gabriel “Lyrical” Cruz
• Owen “ODPixel” Davies (onsite)
• Richie “SeekNStrike” Garcia
• Mike “MLP” Le Phoenix
• Tim “Dktruman” de Lange
• Chan “WinteR” Litt Binn
• Clinton “Fear” Loomis
• Ioannis “Fogged” Loucas (onsite)
• John “johnxfire” Nathan Fernandez
• Troels Lyngholt “syndereN” Nielsen 
• Alvaro “Avo+” Sanchez Velasco
• Shannon “SUNSfan” Scotten 
• Avery “SVG” Silverman (onsite)
• Dominik “Lacoste” Stipić 
• Austin “Cap” Walsh (onsite)

Analysts:

• Brian “BSJ” Canavan
• Kevin “Purge” Godec
• Maurice “KheZu” Gutmann
• Mira “Ephey” Riad
• Alex “Sheepsticked” Roberts

Prize Money: 

Where to watch:

DreamLeague Season 19 will begin at 12pm CEST on April 9, and fans can tune in during the livestreams on the DreamLeague Twitch and the ESL Dota 2 YouTube channels, and via dedicated broadcast partners. For more information about DreamLeague Season 19, check out the official website, and follow ESL Dota 2 on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

You can download imagery from the press kit here.

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About ESL FACEIT Group

ESL FACEIT Group (EFG) is the leading esports and video game entertainment company dedicated to creating worlds beyond gameplay where players and fans become community. EFG is built on a legacy of world-renowned brands including ESL, FACEIT, DreamHack and DreamHack Sports Games, providing innovative ecosystems for global communities of players, fans and creators around the games they love. Working alongside leading partners, brands and global IPs, EFG operates an unmatched portfolio of live events, digital platforms and developer tools that reach and engage millions of gamers worldwide. For more information visit www.eslfaceitgroup.com.

About ESL

ESL creates a world where everybody can be somebody. For more than two decades, we have been shaping the industry and leading esports and gaming innovation globally across the most popular video games, creating a comprehensive ecosystem with opportunities for players to go from zero to hero and for fans to witness the best stories esports has to offer. The ESL portfolio consists of high-profile products such as the ESL Pro Tour, Intel® Extreme Masters, the Snapdragon Pro Series, and many more, ranging from grassroots to global elite competitions. ESL is part of ESL FACEIT Group, the leading competitive games and esports company.

About DreamLeague

Founded by DreamHack in 2013, DreamLeague is one of the oldest Dota 2 brands and features the best teams from around the globe. The league is among the longest running Dota 2 leagues, celebrating its 20th season this year. Since 2023, DreamLeague is hosted online as part of the ESL Pro Tour for Dota 2 and has millions of US dollars in prize money up for grabs every year (https://pro.eslgaming.com/dreamleague/).