16 teams will be fighting for their cut of a $1 million prize pool and a spot in Riyadh Masters 2025.
The Dota 2 action continues this month with DreamLeague Season 25, the 25th season of ESL’s online tournament series. The event will take place from 16 February to 2 March, featuring 16 of the best Dota 2 teams from all across the world fighting for their cut of a $1 million prize pool and 20,440 ESL Pro Tour (EPT) point pool.
Teams
The 16 teams competing in DreamLeague Season 25 are comprised of four invited teams from the EPT leaderboard and eight teams that earned their spots through a series of regional qualifiers in Western Europe, Eastern Europe, China, Southeast Asia, North America, South America, and MESWA.
Here’s the list of participating teams for DreamLeague Season 25:
- PARIVISION – Invited
- BetBoom Team – Invited
- Team Falcons – Invited
- Team Liquid – Invited
- AVULUS WEU Qualifier
- Tundra Esports – Western Europe qualifier
- Gaimin Gladiators – Western Europe qualifier
- Team Spirit – Eastern Europe qualifier
- 9Pandas – Eastern Europe qualifier
- Yakult Brothers – China qualifier
- Moodeng Warriors (former Aurora Gaming) – Southeast Asia qualifier
- Shopify Rebellion – North America qualifier
- HEROIC – South America qualifier
- Chimera Esports – MESWA qualifier
Format
DreamLeague Season 25 is split into three distinct stages: Group Stage 1 from 16 February to 19, Group Stage 2 from 21 February to 27, and the Playoffs from 1 March to 2.
Group Stage 1 will split the 16 participating teams into two groups of eight teams each that will compete in a single round-robin format with best-of-two matches for advancement to Group Stage 2. The Top 4 teams from each group will advance to the next stage while the bottom four will be eliminated.
Group Stage 2 will then pit the remaining eight teams into one single round-robin with best-of-three matches for advancement to the Playoffs. The Top 2 teams will advance to the upper bracket of the Playoffs, while the third and fourth-placed teams will have to start in the lower bracket.
The Playoffs will be a double-elimination bracket with all matches being a best-of-three except for the grand finals, which will be a full best-of-three series.
Prize pool
DreamLeague Season 25 features a $1 million prize pool and 20,440 EPT point pool. Of the $1 million in prize money, $750,000 will be awarded as player prize money while $250,000 will be awarded as club rewards. Meanwhile, the EPT points will go towards earning teams direct invites to future ESL events and a spot in Riyadh Masters 2025.
All teams that participate in DreamLeague Season 25 are guaranteed at least $10,000 and 42 EPT points.
Here’s the full prize pool breakdown for DreamLeague Season 25:
- 1st: $250,000
- 2nd: $100,000
- 3rd: $80,000
- 4th: $60,000
- 5th: $40,000
- 6th: $35,000
- 7th: $30,000
- 8th: $25,000
- 9th-10th: $20,000
- 11th-12th: $17,500
- 13th-14th: $15,000
- 15th-16th: $10,000
