One spot, four teams; Who is vying for Riyadh Masters at DreamLeague Season 23?

There is only one Riyadh Masters slot left up for grabs at DreamLeague Season 23 and four teams are still in contention.

Right now it very much feels like musical chairs at DreamLeague Season 23. Normally there would be just one less chair than participants, but in this Dota version, four teams are circling, itching to jump on ONE chair when the music stops. One chair that is worth a slice of $5 million. 

• Read Dota 2 features the largest prize pool at Esports World Cup 2024

Team Spirit, Heroic, Azure Ray, and Aurora will be giving it their all over the next few days at DreamLeague Season 23 where the last direct invite for Riyadh Masters is up for grabs. For some more than others that will be quite an undertaking. Not only are the odds not in some of their favor, but thanks to the new patch drop last night, Dota 2 might seem like an entirely new game to them. 

With 124 heroes and each getting an Innate Ability and two Facets, it’s somewhere in the neighborhood of 365 new skills in the game, taking into account seven old passive abilities like Greevil’s Greed, Mischief, and Nature’s Guise being rebranded as Innate Abilities. It is going to take players more than a few days to adapt to all the changes Dota 2 patch 7.36 has brought with it.

• Read Dota 2 patch 7.36 brings Innate Abilities and Facets to all heroes in the game

According to Ben "Noxville" Steenhuisen, statsman known for in-game statistics, production statistics, and talent preparation for various events, Team Spirit has a 80% chance of grabbing the spot (did we mention that Team Spirit isn't even playing in this event?), while Azure Ray has only a 2% chance (approximate). Sorry AR, we don't make the rules. And since Noxville is much better at maths and numbers than us, we'll trust him on this. 

Wow… that's a lot to sift through. 

Azure Ray, Aurora, and Heroic will at least have one full day to make sense of new strategies and obstacles. None of them will be competing until tomorrow, Friday, May 24th. 

However, all three teams will be starting from the bottom (brackets) to add to their pressure, while Tundra throws a monkey wrench in it all with an upper bracket placement. 

And to make things even more intense Azure Ray will be taking on Heroic in a winner-takes-another-shot series. 

AuroravsBetBoom Team 12:00 CEST
Azure RayvsHeroic 15:30 CEST

Although Team Spirit won't be contending with trying to show up in their Sunday best while figuring out what game this actually is, they also have to sit on the sidelines biting their nails as they watch their future unfold with no say in the matter. 

The only consolation prize for the three teams that miss out is there are still qualifiers starting at the end of May. 

DreamLeague Season 23

DreamLeague Season 23 Playoff Teams

•  BetBoom Team (EPT Leaderboard)
• Xtreme Gaming (EPT Leaderboard)
• Gaimin Gladiators (EPT Leaderboard)
• Team Falcons (EPT Leaderboard)
• Tundra Esports (Western Europe)
•   Azure Ray (China)
•  Aurora Gaming (Southeast Asia)
•  Heroic (South America)

DreamLeague Season 23 Playoff Brackets

DreamLeague Season 23 Playoffs Format

• Playoffs - May 23 - May 26, 2024
  • Double-elimination bracket
  • All matches are Bo3
  • Grand Final is Bo5

DreamLeague Season 23 Tournament Prize Pool

• Prize pool: $1,000,000
• Total EPT Points: 26,100

DreamLeague Season 23

Twelve teams gathered in boot camps in Europe to compete for a share of the $1,000,000 prize pool and 26,100 EPT points. At this point with no DPC, many expect that the EPT points will be critical for participating in ESL's LANs and might be the biggest factor in determining The International 2024 invites. 

DreamLeague Season 23 will be followed by Riyadh Masters. This will be the least DreamLeague Season before The International 2024. Check out the ESL EPT Pathing and results so far:

• Read ESL Pro Tour 2024: A midway snapshot