Dota 2 DreamLeague Season 27-What Awaits Players and Bettors

Even after all these years, Dota 2 remains one of the most popular Esports out there. With DreamLeague Season 27, it is once again at the centre of attention of the entire Esports community. With only a few days left before the start of the tournament, this is a good day to talk about it as any. Players are eager to start competing. Viewers and fans of the game can't wait for the show to start. And to be honest, there are plenty of bettors who simply love to place some money on their favourite teams/players, and follow every Dota 2 tournament from that perspective.

If you fall into the latter category, you know that the best DOTA 2 - DreamLeague Season 27 betting odds are found at Stake? Even if this was not part of your knowledge, you cannot ignore it. Not this close to the start of the tournament. As far as the competition goes, this Dota 2 tournament is a part of the ESL Pro Tour (EPT). The DreamLeague is open to teams from all over the globe, and in many ways, it is similar to a World Cup, regardless of the sport. The qualifiers for the competition are closed, so every team needs to find a way to get to the final tourney by competing with other teams from their region.

While competing with your peers from every part of the world has its appeal, you ought to know that this tournament has a lot of prestige in the Esports community, but also it is quite rewarding to the participants. The prize pool is set at $1 million. The winner of the competition goes home with staggering $250,000. As if that's not enough, they also receive $40,000 in terms of club reward prize money. DreamLeague is a gift that keeps on giving, so the best placed teams also get ESL Pro Tour points that aid in their final season rankings.

History of Dota 2-DreamLeague

This competition is more than a decade old. Founded back in 2013 by DreamHack, DreamLeague intends to glorify Dota 2, its roots, and everything it represents in the gaming world. From its roots in Sweden, it grew from a competition of 6 Esports teams from Europe and North America into a fully global event that stands out in the Esports community as one of the most prestigious ones. Each year, the tourney grew, and from a place where only a select few had gathered, it has reached the international level that rarely any event can parry.

Four years after the initial tournament, DreamLeague Season 8 was added to the Dota 2 Circuit. After this level was achieved, DreamLeague Major has become one of the tournaments which when won or later stages were reached accumulated points for teams that aided in their rankings for The International. A few years after that, in 2023, with the DreamLeague 19, the tourney became a part of the ESL Pro Tour. The moment that happened the entire competition reached new levels and the prestige of being ranked and getting points awarded for the ETP was there. Of course, the teams who wanted those points had to achieve high ranking which in a competition of this quality is not an easy thing to do.

Date and Time of The DreamLeague

With the DreamLeague Season 27 we will have the first event of the 2025/26 ESL Pro Tour. It opens on December 10th, and it will last until December 21st. The biggest stage is already set, and all the participants are known. The last bunch of teams that got the honour to be part of this Dota 2 show were added after the Seasons 1 and 2 of DreamLeague Division 2 took place between October 11th and 26th, and later on from 4th November to 12th November. These qualifications added 5 more teams for the final number of 24 teams.

The Final Participants List

As one could have expected, the best of them have gathered for the DreamLeague Season 27. Most names that are here are entering the competition with the highest of aspirations, and here they are:

Aurora Gaming: Last season, Aurora Gaming came 4th at the DreamLeague, and they will be looking to do better this year. At The International they've ranked 9th-13th, but that was enough to get invited to the Dota 2 DreamLeague Season 27.
BetBoomTeam: After wrapping up last year's tournament as the second best team, the goal is number one this year. 4th place at the 2025 The International speaks volume about their quality. Stake.com odds state that BetBoom Team is one of the dark horses for this tourney with their odds being 8.00.
Heroic: Another team with high aspirations this year. After position 8th last time around, and a 5th-6th finish at The International they believe the only way is up.
Nigma Galaxy: The same quality, aspirations, and results as Heroic. They will be up there when the final few are decided.
PARIVISION: Last season's champions know what they're fighting for and that's the defence of the title. With a third spot at The International they know they're good enough, and we can only witness it.
Talon Esports: With no rankings at The International, Talon Esports will be looking to build on their DreamLeague legacy. During Season 26 they were the third ranked team, and nothing less is acceptable this season too.
Team Falcons: From the DreamLeague Season 26 to The International, Team Falcons have come a long way. During the first tourney they were 9th-10th team. Yet, they took the TI crown home. Now, they will be looking to up their DL game, and we're all up for it.
Team Liquid: Here we have another dark horse for the competition, while they were silent during the last few months, a title at the 2024 The International must not be forgotten.
Team Spirit: 9th-13th at the DreamLeague Season 25 doesn't tell the full story for Team Spirit. Their No1 ranking at The International 2025 is a result that could mean plenty in a few days time.
Tundra Esports: At the DreamLeague Season 25, this team took home impressive 2nd place, but they were not up to that standard at The International, where they landed between 7th-8th.
Xtreme Gaming: Another team that fared better at The International than they have during the last DreamLeague season. This is their chance to shine.

The teams above are the ones with the best chances of competing for the top spots at the upcoming Dota 2 DreamLeague Season 27. The few that will fill the gaps and probably serve as the fodder for the top teams are Natus Vincere, Virtus.pro, AVULUS, Runa Team, Yakult Brothers, BOOM Esports, and Apex Genesis.

Format and Schedule of DreamLeague Season 27

Officially, the DreamLeague has started with the qualifying tournament that is now wrapped up. During the qualifiers, the teams had access to the prize pool of $100,000, while the top five teams were granted an entry to Season 27. The qualifiers are divided into Season 1 and Season 2. From the 5 teams that reach the main stage, 4 come from Season 1, while there's only one slot for the winner of Season 2.

Once the teams from the qualifiers, and those that have secured their places join together, the number grows to 24 teams that compete in the group stages of the tourney. ESL DreamLeague Season 27 runs on the Swiss stage group principle. It has six rounds. All of the matches in the group stages are decided in the best of three series. Top eight teams that come out of the group stages reach the playoffs.

The teams in the playoffs participate in the double elimination bracket. Just like in the group stages the matches are played in best of 3 series. The only match that is played in the best of five series is the Grand Final. With the final stage of the tournament set in this format, only the best of the best can hope to reach the end stages and perform there as intended.

Who Are the Favorites to Win it All?

The stakes are high at a tournament of this magnitude. But, just like any other sport or ESport, it is well known who are the best teams in the Dota 2 universe. In our book the following teams have the best chances of taking home the crown from the Dota 2 DreamLeague Season 27 competition.

Team Falcons

The winners for the 2025 The International have to be favoured for this one too. Since winning the Aegis of Champions they've been playing at the top of their game. The team led by Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf are seen as hot favourites by both fans, analysts and their contemporaries alike. While not winning the competition, team Falcons were amazing at the BLAST Slam IV where they were second best team, while their game at FISSURE Playground 2 led them to No1 position.

Right now, they're the hot thing in Dota 2, and we can see them carrying their good form to the DreamLeague Season 27. Stanislav “Malr1ne” Potorak has been dominant in the midlane, and if he is up to the task Team Falcons can go all the way here too. The bookies are on the same page as us and their odds of 3.50 reflect this.

Team Spirit

Many fans see Team Spirit as a big disappointment. They enter every tournament as one of the favourites but recently they've been falling short of winning trophies. While the win at the Esports World Cup is still fresh, their poor performance at the TI is still hurting. More silverware is needed in their trophy cabinet if they're to be seen as one of the Dota 2 elite.

If we're to judge them by their most recent performance, the 2nd place finish at the PGL Wallachia Season 6 is a good omen. MOUZ got the best out of them there, but the performances leading to the final were more than good enough. Nikita “Panto” Balaganin finally gelled with his teammates, and the team is entering this competition in a good form. If Yatoro, Collapse, and Silent elevate their game just a tad bit, Team Spirit will be right there at least in the top four. With their odds set at 4.40, the bookmakers believe that we might witness a Grand Final between Team Falcons and Team Spirit.

Tundra Esports

Winning on a regular basis requires consistency. Tundra Esports have shown throughout the season that they have it in abundance. Their trophy cabinet has been filled with new additions every few months for the past year. In addition to consistent play, this team has shown that it can do some serious business in roster building, which was proven over and over again by adding Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko and Matthew “Ari” Walker, whom have proven to be great additions since they were added and added to the teams chemistry from the first match.

If you've been paying attention, Tundra Esports took the better from Team Falcons at the BLAST Slam IV, winning their third trophy of this kind in a row. Tundra Esports are proof that Esports are just like any other sport, where changes to the roster are necessary if things do not work. With their odds set at 7.00 the bookies have them as the fourth favorite for the upcoming tourney behind team Falcons, Team Spirit, and Team Liquid. In our book, they're the clear No3, and thus we've listed them before the bookie favoured Team Liquid that has odds of 4.00.

Dota 2 DreamLeague Season 27 starts in a few days, and we hope you will be playing Dota 2, watching the tourney, and making casual bets on your favorite teams in the process too. That's how fun is made.

Blog