Thursday, September 7, 2023, Cologne/New York – DreamLeague, the longest-running Dota 2 league, will return for its 21st season on September 18 – 24. The week-long tournament will feature 12 of the best teams battling for a share of the $1,000,000 prize pool in the final Tier 1 competition ahead of The International.

Here is all you need to know about DreamLeague Season 21 powered by Intel®:

With all participating teams gathering in their boot camps all across Europe, DreamLeague Season 21 starts with the Group Stage on September 18, featuring two groups. The top four squads of each group advance to the Playoffs. Here, the double-elimination bracket will determine which two teams progress to the Grand Final on September 24 to battle for the lion’s share of the $1,000,000 prize pool and the coveted title.

Teams attending:

• 9Pandas 
• BetBoom Team 
• Entity 
• Evil Geniuses 
• Gaimin Gladiators 
• OG 
• Quest Esports
• Shopify Rebellion
• TALON
• Team Liquid 
• Team Spirit 
• Tundra Esports 

Schedule and Format:

The upcoming DreamLeague season will be a week-long tournament, promising intense competition across the Group Stage and the Playoffs.

Group Stage: 18 – 21 September

• Two round-robin groups of six teams will play in two-game series matches with two best-of-ones played consecutively.
• The top four teams from each group progress to the Playoffs.
  • The top two teams from each group will proceed to the upper bracket
  • The third and fourth-placed teams of each group progress to the lower bracket.

Playoffs: 21 – 24 September

• All matches will be best-of-three apart from the Grand Final, which will be best-of-five.
• The winner is crowned DreamLeague Season 21 Champions while also taking home $300,000 of the total prize.

Commentators and Analysts:

• Desk Hosts:
  • Jorien “Sheever” van der Heijden
  • Neal “Tsunami” Khandheria

• Co-hosts:
  • Andrew “Jenkins” Jenkins
  • Troels “syndereN” Lyngholt Nielsen
• Analysts:
  • Mira “Ephey” Riad
  • Kevin “Purge” Godec
  • Maurice “KheZu” Gutmann
  • Dominic “Lacoste” Stipić
  • Clinton “Fear” Loomis
• Casters:
  • Owen “ODPixel” Davies
  • Austin “Cap” Walsh
  • Ioannis “Fogged” Loucas
  • Avery “SVG” Silverman
• Remote Casters:
  • Richie “SeekNStrike” Garcia
  • Chan “WinteR” Litt Binn
  • Gareth “Gareth” Bateson
  • Niklas “Wagamama” Högström
  • Ricky “rkryptic” Peterson
  • Robson “TeaGuvnor” Merritt
  • John “johnxfire” Nathan Fernandez
  • Mike “MLPDotA” Le Phoenix

Prize Money:

Where to watch:

DreamLeague Season 21 will be streamed live on the ESL_Dota2, ESL_Dota2Ember, and ESL_Dota2Storm Twitch channels, as well as the ESL Dota 2 YouTube channel. For more information about DreamLeague Season 21, check out the official website and follow ESL Dota 2 on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. For more general information, visit eslfaceitgroup.com and follow ESL FACEIT Group on LinkedIn.

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 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 21st 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/).