Falcons four-peat incoming? DreamLeague Season 25 is right around the corner

DreamLeague has made many pro dreams come true and shattered countless competitors' hearts in the process – but in recent times, it has turned into a bit of a one-sided affair.

Can anyone stop Team Falcons this time around? Read on to find out.

DreamLeague Season 25 format and schedule

ESL's latest iteration of the DreamLeague series will begin on February 16 and will conclude with a best-of-five grand final on March 2. In the in-between period, there will be plenty of Dota action to enjoy for fans, courtesy of the well-known double group stage format and the exciting double-elimination playoff bracket.

Here's how it all will play out over the course of the next three weeks:

First, the opening group stage, set to play out between February 16 and February 19, will weed out half of the sixteen competing teams. It will be a grueling period of action-packed Dota contests, with two separate groups and an entire round-robin bracket played out between the eight teams per group. The top half advances and the rest will go home – and in case a tiebreaker is required to settle the scores, it will be either a best-of-three series between the two teams involved or a series of best-of-one mini-round-robin matches if three or more squads are tied. If they still cannot be separated, further statistical tiebreakers are applied.

The second group stage of DreamLeague Season 25 will take place between February 21 and 27, and it is mostly identical to the first one, except for the fact that all remaining teams are placed into a singular group. Again, a single round-robin bracket is played out, and the top two teams will punch their ticket straight to the upper bracket of the playoffs, with the third- and fourth-place teams having to settle for a lower bracket spot. The tiebreaker rules are almost identical here, with the exception of the number of 2-0 series coming in as the primary factor for the statistical ones – but those only come into play if the tiebreaker series failed to produce a clear winner.

Then, the double-elimination playoffs, the heart of the action. With just the four teams involved, this means four series in total, played out across two days: March 1 and March 2. First, the lower bracket semis and the upper bracket final – then, the rest. This means that a successful upper bracket run will net you a bit of an advantage compared to your opposition, who will have to play back-to-back series on the final day. All playoff series are best-of-three affairs, and the grand final, in all its spectacular glory, will be a best-of-five competition between the two surviving Dota 2 squads.

The action and the storylines will continue as we get deeper into the calendar year. DreamLeague Season 26 is scheduled for May 19-June 1, and the next ESL event, ESL One Raleigh 2025, will run from April 7 to April 13.

As is always the case, this event is part of the ESL Pro Tour, meaning the teams with the best aggregate DreamLeague seasons 24-26, plus last year's ESL One Bangkok event and the upcoming bout in Raleigh, will directly qualify for Riyadh Masters, which means every matchup has added significance for the teams involved, even if they are out of the running for a playoffs spot for this particular season. In total, one million dollars and 20,860 EPT points will be distributed among the participants, sliced up along the following lines:

• 1st: $250,000 and 4,200 EPT points
• 2nd: $100,000 and 3,500 EPT points
• 3rd: $80,000 and 2,800 EPT points
• 4th: $60,000 and 2,240 EPT points
• 5th: $40,000 and 1,680 EPT points
• 6th: $35,000 and 1,400 EPT points
• 7th: $30,000 and 840 EPT points
• 8th: $25,000 and 560 EPT points
• 9-10th: $20,000 and 350 EPT points
• 11-12th: $17,500 and 175 EPT points
• 13-14th: $15,000 and 98 EPT points
• 15-16th: $10,000 and 42 EPT points

The first group stage will separately award 420, 210, and 105 EPT points for its top three finishers, and the winner of the second group stage will get an additional 420 as well. Eligible teams also get a corresponding Club Reward for their finishing placement.

DreamLeague Season 25 teams, rosters, and storylines

PARIVISION

Qualified via the EPL Leaderboard
(Satanic, No[o]ne-, DM, 9Class, Dukalis)

The benching of Crytallis and Satanic's pickup as a loanee was a clear sign that, despite the win at ESL One Bangkok late last year, the CIS side wasn't satisfied with their share of results since the org picked up the former Pari Parni squad in October. A third-place finish at the FISSURE PLAYGROUND event was an impressive showing, but they weren't anywhere close to replicating it at the BLAST Slam, and despite their EPL Leaderboard qualification, they are not among the favorites for this one.

BetBoom Team

Qualified via the EPL Leaderboard
(Pure, gpk, MieRo, Save-, Kataomi)

Pure and co. had a strong end to 2024 after a disappointing 7-8th finish at The International, with four consecutive podium finishes and an outright win at the inaugural BLAST Slam back in December, but they failed to replicate these showings in the two big events of the new year, putting them firmly behind their fellow EPL leaderboard qualifiers and the likes of Tundra and Gaimin Gladiators, too.

Team Falcons

Qualified via the EPL Leaderboard
(skiter, Malr1ne, ATF, Cr1t-, Sneyking)

The Falcons project may be a controversial one, and they don't always get their way superteam-wise in other games, but they did manage to put together a bona fide powerhouse when it comes to Dota 2 esports. The team has won three consecutive editions of DreamLeague, and they were there or thereabouts in the two big tournaments that have played out earlier in the year, finishing third at BLAST Slam II and as the runner-up at FISSURE PLAYGROUND Belgrade 2025, pushing Tundra to the brink. They will be ready to defend their crown once more.

Team Liquid

Qualified via the EPL Leaderboard
(miCKe, Nisha, SaberLight, Boxi, Insania)

The TI2024 winners boast one of the most stable squads in all of esports, with the Swedish core of their Dota 2 team wearing Liquid jerseys since October 2019. They, of course, are the only org to have won TI with two different rosters, having previously won in 2017. This victory, however, was different, as the clock was clearly ticking on the squad that was the oldest-ever, average age-wise, to win the showpiece Dota 2 esports event.

Since then, 33 has moved on to Tundra Esports, and his replacement in the form of SaberLight facilitated a captaincy transfer to miCKe. So far, the results have been resoundingly meh in top-tier events, with 7-8th finishes in the year's first two big competitions, but the competitive pedigree and the veterancy aspect are both unparalleled on this squad, and there's a reason why they didn't have to go through the grueling qualification process: recent results notwithstanding, they are still among the best.

AVULUS

Qualified via the Western European qualifiers
(Smiling Knight, Stormstormer, Xibbe, Ekki, SoNNeikO)

A new-look squad in Dota 2 esports, AVULUS have posted some impressive results in qualifiers and lower-level competitions over the second half of 2024, but there is little reason to suspect them to make a huge mark on the DreamLeague stage.

Tundra Esports

Qualified via the Western European qualifiers
(dyracho, bzm, 33, Saksa, Whitemon)

Arguably the strongest Dota 2 esports team on form, Tundra enter this tournament in white-hot form, having swept Gaimin Gladiators in the BLAST Slam II grand finals, in itself their second consecutive event win since dyracho and bzm were added to the team, with the previous one being FISSURE PLAYGROUND Belgrade 2025. Amusingly, that series also marked their tenth consecutive triumph over Gaimin, an important record to keep in mind when and if these two squads meet again. For the time being, Tundra are definitely among the favorites – and not just because of this decimation.

Gaimin Gladiators

Qualified via the Western European qualifiers
(watson, Quinn, Ace, tOfu, Seleri)

If you got into Dota 2 esports in 2023, Gaimin's name may be synonymous with gaming excellence for you, but GG's recent results have been a far cry from that of the back-to-back-to-back Major-winning squad from a year and a half ago. While the team did win Riyadh Masters last year and posted back-to-back runner-up finishes at TI, things haven't been the same since, with the solitary grand final appearance coming at BLAST Slam II, where they got predictably tonked by Spirit. While the watson pickup definitely has merit, you can't help but wonder if they are still missing dyracho, who's been enjoying life over on Tundra.

Team Spirit

Qualified via the Eastern European qualifiers
(Yatoro, Larl, Collapse, rue, Miposhka)

The TI23 winners have not had an auspicious 2024, and they controversially missed out on an invitation to BLAST Slam II, having finished fourth in the previous edition. Ring rust or not, they blazed through their regional qualifiers for DreamLeague, and they have more than a puncher's chance to go all the way here.

9Pandas

Qualified via the Eastern European qualifiers
(V-Tune, erase, laise, lupsione, Solo)

Solo and co. have been consistently inconsistent for the longest of time and this tendency showed no signs of stopping in their early showings of 2025. They are unlikely to make it past even the first stage here.

Chimera Esports

Qualified via MESWA qualifiers
(TA2000, lorenof, Daxak, OneJey, panto)

Chimera pipped the highly experienced Nigma Galaxy side to the post in the MESWA (Middle East and North Africa) qualifiers to the post, but despite their impressive showing and exciting play, turmoil is still quite clearly on the cards. The team benched Daxak yet required his services as a stand-in for this event, which is, erm, not the sign of great planning or cohesion.

Yakult Brothers

Qualified via the Chinese qualifiers
(Ame, Emo, zeal, BoBoKa, 天命)

Chinese doto has not been the best doto for the longest of time now, but the recent departures of poloson and flyfly didn't seem to cause serious issues for the Yakult Brothers squad, who posted a decently high finish at BLAST Slam II, but in the more thorough and testing format of DreamLeague, it'd be understandable if they struggled more.

Xtreme Gaming

Qualified via the Chinese qualifiers
(Lou, Xm, niu, Pyw, poloson)

May the real Xtreme Gaming please stand up? 3-4th finish at BLAST Slam I, a 0-4 group stage exit at BLAST Slam II. Recency bias and qualification struggles make us think the latter is the more likely identity here.

Moodeng Warriors

Qualified via the Southeast Asian qualifiers
(423, Abed, JT-, Jabz, Oli)

This particular team name might not ring a bell for you at all, but this is the recently released Aurora Gaming roster, and they are back with a vengeance. With this having happened just a week before heading into the event, no doubt the chaos involved will have a significant impact on the players and their performances, which have already been shaky even under the Aurora banner.

BOOM Esports

Qualified via the Southeast Asian qualifiers
(JaCkky, Mac, Fbz, TIMS, Jaunuel)

BOOM has a strong pedigree in the Dota 2 esports scene, but this iteration of the squad and their Southeast Asian adventure has not been all that fulfilling so far. The team will need to greatly improve from their recent performances if they want to accomplish anything of note in DreamLeague Season 25, as they are clearly one of the weakest squads in the event.

Shopify Rebellion

Qualified via the North American qualifiers
(Timado, Yopaj-, Hellscream, skem, ?)

The NA representatives at DreamLeague Season 25 comfortably sailed through their regional qualifier, but mangekyou's recent departure from the roster means much is still in flux for the squad, making an already unlikely contender even weaker in the stability department.

HEROIC

Qualified via the South American qualifiers
(Yuma, 4nalog, Wisper, Scofield, KJ)

HEROIC qualified for DreamLeague Season 25 without dropping a single game in their qualifier campaign, and the team has proven its potential with a tier 2 event win at PGL Wallachia last October. However, if we are being realistic, their 7-8th finishes at BLAST Slam and FISSURE PLAYGROUND seem just about right for where they might end up for this competition, too, faced with strong international opposition.

What do you need to know about our DreamLeague Season 25 tournament preview? A summary

DreamLeague is a special kind of Dota 2 esports event, and recent results and the eye test suggest that based on form, Tundra Esports and Team Falcons are the two favorites heading into Season 25. The format, as is familiar to most gaming fans by now, is a double group stage followed by a four-team double elimination playoffs: this means that consistency and strong performances are key when it comes to making a deep run, making experienced teams even likelier to win here.

It's also going to be a super fun tournament and another great part of the larger EPT Tour storyline, which will see the best teams qualify for Riyadh Masters later in the year.