Group Stage 1 of DreamLeague Season 20 has concluded with the elimination of eight teams. Eight other teams advance to Group Stage 2 beginning tomorrow, June 16.
A total of 16 teams began on June 11th, fighting for the trophy, a share of the $1,000,000, and an invite to Riyadh Masters 2023. As Group Stage 1 has come to an end, only eight teams are left standing.
Some surprising teams found themselves on the wrong side of the brackets in each group and were sent home early.
Team Liquid was one of the first teams to be eliminated. Their 1:3:3 series record put them at the bottom of Group A. Their only series win was against TSM who came in just above them in 7th place.
Team Secret and Tundra Esports took their eliminations after the three-way-tie breakers with Evil Geniuses.
Both teams came to the event with stand-ins. Secret had just split ways with Miroslav “BOOM” Bičan after relegating back to Division II in the Dota Pro Circuit and was playing with Saieful "Fbz" Ilham coming on loan from BOOM Esports. Tundra was playing with two stand-ins. Aleksandr "Immersion" Khmelevskoi filled in for Tundra's captain, Wu "Sneyking" Jingjun while Stanislav "Malr1ne" Potorak stood in for Leon "Nine" Kirilin in the mid lane.
OG made a quick change in their lineup — moving coach Evgenii "Chu" Makarov back into a coaching position and bringing Sebastien "Ceb" Debs back into action but it wasn't enough for the two-time TI champions to survive the first round of groups. Their final series record 1:4:2 left them in 7th place.
Oddly enough, Shopify Rebellion's series record of 0:6:1 was enough to put them slightly ahead of OG in 6th place. The addition of Amer “Miracle” Barkawi in place of Abed “Abed” Yusop who had visa issues wasn't THE miracle they hoped for.
beastcoast who narrowly missed advancing to the second group stage, also came in with a stand-in, competing without their carry player, Héctor "K1" Rodríguez. K1 took a “temporary mental health break to prioritize his well-being,”
The teams still left in contention are playing with their full rosters, which says a lot about how much of an advantage it usually is to play fully stacked than with a stand-in no matter how much of a veteran, savior, or miracle player they are.
Remaining DreamLeague Season 20 format and schedule
Remaining Teams
9Pandas
BetBoom Team
Evil Geniuses
Gaimin Gladiators
PSG.LGD
Talon Esports
Team Aster
Team SpiritGroup Stage 2: June 16 - 22
- One group of eight teams
- Single round-robin
- 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 - June 24 - 25
- Double-elimination bracket
- All matches except Grand Final are Bo3
- Grand Final is Bo5
Read Riyadh Masters 2023: Who is in and who can qualify for the $15M event?
This season will send a total of 7 teams to Riyadh as follows:
- Winners
- Runners-up
- 5 slots to best average placements
- If Gaimin Gladiators place top 2 as the team is already qualified, the teams invited from average DreamLeague placements would increase from 5 to 6.
- Despite being eliminated, Tundra has already secured a place in Riyadh
