What to watch this week; DreamLeague Season 22 Group Stage 2 & Playoffs edition

What should you be watching in the Dota 2 scene this week?  DreamLeague Season 22 as group stage 2 continues and playoffs conclude on Sunday. 

DreamLeague Season 22 has been going on for just over one week – since February 25th – but somehow feels much longer. While the games in Group Stage 1 might not have been anything to write home about, some excitement has been hitting the event. 

• Read DreamLeague Season 22: Group Stage 1 team and hero statistics

Aside from a Wisper Rubik offlane, the hottest topic has been the Tundra Esports vs Ivan "MinD_ContRoL" Ivanov debacle. And let's be honest, while we all knew Dota 2 team composition would return to a state of the wild wild west without roster locks and DPC points, not many saw a kick mid-tournament coming. 

• Read Tundra announce a disciplinary investigation while MinD_ContRoL gives insights into his departure

Tundra was eliminated (unsurprisingly after that chaos) in the first group stage, along with some other unexpected teams including Team Liquid, Azure Ray, and Team Secret. 

• Read Some big names drop from DreamLeague Season 22

Group Stage 2 began on Friday.  BetBoom and Team Falcons are in the lead, but one will pull further ahead as these two powerhouse teams will go head to head today, March 4th at 14:30 CET. 

By Thursday, March 7th, four more teams will be eliminated, leaving four teams to advance to the playoffs. 

DreamLeague Season 22 Group Stage 2 

DreamLeague Season 22 Group Stage 2 and Playoffs  Format

• Group Stage 2 - March 1 - March 7, 2024
  • One single round-robin group of eight teams
  • All matches are Bo3
  • Top two teams advance to the upper bracket of the playoffs
  • 3rd and 4th place team advance to the lower bracket of the playoffs
  • Remaining teams are eliminated
     
• Playoffs - March 9 - March 10, 2024
  • Double-elimination bracket
  • All matches except Grand Final are Bo3
  • Grand Final is Bo5

DreamLeague Season 22 prize pool and EPT points distribution

The $1,000,000  and 18,550 EPT Points are spread among the participants as seen below:

• 1st place: $300,000 & 4,200 EPT Points
• 2nd place: $175,000 & 3,500 EPT Points
• 3rd place: $120,000 & 2,800 EPT Points
• 4th place: $85,000 & 2,240 EPT Points
• 5th place: $52,500 & 1,680 EPT Points
• 6th place: $47,500 & 1,400 EPT Points
• 7th place: $42,500 & 840 EPT Points
• 8th place: $37,500 & 560 EPT Points
• 9th/10th place: $25,000 & 350 EPT Points Virtus.pro / Tundra Esports 
• 11th /12th place: $20,000 & 175 EPT Points Azure Ray / Team Secret 
• 13th/14th place: $15,000 & 98 EPT Points Heroic / Team Liquid 
• 15th/16th place: $10,000 & 42 EPT Points 1win/ G2.iG 

DreamLeague

A total of three DreamLeague events will be part of the 2024 ESL Pro Tour as well as two ESL One LAN tournaments. DreamLeague Season 21 and ESL One Kuala Lumpur which took place towards the end of 2023 were already a part of the current EPT. The upcoming DreamLeague Season 22 and ESL One Birmingham will determine which teams will secure a direct invite to this year’s Riyadh Masters event. 

More interviews from DreamLeague S22:

- Davai Lama interview: “You open a lot more opportunities for yourself by learning a new language”
-  Bach: “I simply can't enjoy mobile games”
- Ekki: “Now's the time when tier two teams can start emerging” 
- FNG: “It will take some time for me to practice and become relevant again”  
- Yopaj: “This year seems a lot more competitive”   
- Ceb: “I don't feel limits when it comes to Dota 2”    
- 33: “ It's going to take some time to get the playstyles in sync”    
- Ame: “I don't think I am as good as Yatoro thinks I am”