DreamLeague Season 22: a comprehensive Dota 2 preview

One of the longest-running and most beloved Dota esports competitions has returned for its twenty-second iteration, featuring the best and brightest players and teams of the star-studded MOBA. It promises incredible action and unparalleled gameplay and serves as an exciting storyline for the first post-DPC season and a great way to keep the hype train rolling.

What is DreamLeague?

DreamLeague is a legendary Dota 2 esports competition with over ten years of storied history, launched as part of DreamHack’s slate of events back in 2013. Though DreamHack is no longer a standalone entity in the esports space, the legacy of this long-standing tournament keeps going strong even a decade later, offering a $1 million prize pool to fight for in Season 22.

The tournament is part of the ESL Pro Tour, a circuit that combines all events under the auspices of the ESL FACEIT Group into a single big competition, offering qualifier spots for the annual Riyadh Masters event based on their total EPT points haul.

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DreamLeague Season 22 format and schedule

DreamLeague Season 22 will feature a familiar format with a double group stage and a four-team playoffs bracket. Like in previous seasons, the tournament will run online.

The first group stage features two teams of eight with a double round-robin bracket with two-game matches. This initial set of play halves the field, with the top 4 of each eight-team group advancing to the next section of the tournament. This takes place between February 25 and 28, with the groups looking as follows:

The second group stage features one round-robin group with all the surviving teams, with best-of-three matches to determine who qualifies for the playoffs. The top two teams move straight into the upper bracket semifinals in the playoffs, with the third- and fourth-place finishers starting in the lower bracket semifinal. This stage runs from March 1 to Match 7.

Group stage tiebreakers are determined by a best-of-three match if two teams are involved or a best-of-one mini round-robin if at least three teams are tied. This is only in the case of positions that matter for the purposes of qualification; otherwise, the number of 2-0 series serves as the primary tiebreaker method for anything cosmetic.

The playoffs feature best-of-three matches and a best-of-five grand final, taking place on March 9-10. Season 23 will follow in the middle of May

You can catch the competition on ESL’s official Twitch and YouTube channels, as well as a variety of community broadcasts.

DreamLeague Season 22 teams and players

The greatest competitors in the world of Dota 2 are all ready to congregate on the servers for some truly exciting action. Four teams qualified via the ESL Pro Tour leaderboards, and twelve teams earned their spot by proving themselves in the regional qualifiers.

With 31 roster moves made since the previous EPT event and a couple of stand-ins to shake things up, things are going to be decidedly different this time around.

Here are the participants of DreamLeague Season 22:

EPT leaderboard qualifiers for DreamLeague S22

• Gaimin Gladiators (dyrachyo, Quinn, Ace, tOfu, Seleri)
• BetBoom Team (Nightfall, gpk, MieRo, Save-, TORONTOTOKYO)
• Xtreme Gaming (Ame, Xm, Xxs, XinQ, Dy)
• Team Liquid (miCKe, Nisha, 33, Boxi, Insania)

WEU qualifier winners for DreamLeague S22

• OG (Timado, bzm, Wisper, Ari, Ceb)
• Tundra Esports (Pure~, Topson, MinD_ContRoL, 9Class, Whitemon)
• Team Secret (Crystallis, Kordan, BOOM, Ekki, Puppey)

EEU qualifier winners for DreamLeague S22

• Team Spirit (Yatoro, Larl, Collapse, Mira, Miposhka)
• Virtus.pro (Kiriyitch~, squad1x, Noticed, sayuw, Fng)
• 1win (Munkushi~, CHIRA_JUNIOR, Cloud, swedenstrong, RESPECT)

Chinese qualifier winners for DreamLeague S22

• Azure Ray (Lou, Ori, Faith_bian, fy, 天命)
• G2.iG (Monet, NothingToSay, JT-, BoBoKa, xNova)

Other qualifiers for DreamLeague S22

• Aurora (23, Lorenof, Jabz, Q, Oli) – Southeast Asia qualifier winners
• Team Falcons (skiter, Malr1ne, ATF, Cr1t-, Sneyking) – MENA qualifier winners
• Shopify Rebellion (Arteezy, Yopaj-, SabeRLight-, Thiolicor, Kitrak) – North American qualifier winners
• Heroic (K1, 4nalog, Davai Lama, Scofield, KJ) – South American qualifier winners

What to watch out for in DreamLeague Season 22

With the 7.35c gameplay update for Dota 2 rolling out just a few days before DreamLeague is set to start, teams and players capable of making the most out of small adjustments could get a head start in the first group stage. While the next major patch is still further out – so there is no Ringmaster to get excited for just yet – the main changes are significant enough to mention.

Mage Slayer and Shiva’s Guard were hit by the nerf bat, and over on the heroes’ side, Doom’s namesake ability’s duration was decreased from 16 seconds to 12/14/16 in what looks like a meaningful adjustment for the early game. Faceless Void, Lion, Meepo, and Witch Doctor also saw some small adjustments made.

DreamLeague Season 22 cheat sheet, summarized

• The tournament is part of the ESL Pro Tour
• Season 22 features a double group stage and a four-team playoff
• It is a fully online event with an international group of competitors from all around the world
• Patch 7.35c will shake up the gameplay somewhat
• Gaimin Gladiators, BetBoom Team, Xtreme Gaming, and Team Liquid are the top dogs, having qualified via the EPT leaderboard rankings

Hungry for more esports knowledge? Check out the hearty meals over at the Bitsler blog, where we cover everything competitive gaming!