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DreamLeague Season 26 - Tournament Preview & Guide

By Tit Krajnik

17 May 2025

Tit Krajnik 17 May 2025

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DreamLeague Season 26 is set to begin on Monday, May 19, 2025
16 Dota 2 teams vie for the lion's share of the $1,000,000 prize pool
All eyes on PARIVISION, Team Liquid, and Team Falcons

Dota 2 (Getty Images)

DreamLeague Season 26 is just around the corner, featuring 16 Dota 2 esports teams and a mouth-watering $1,000,000 prize pool.

When Does DreamLeague Season 26 Start?
DreamLeague Season 26 Format
DreamLeague Season 26 Teams
What is the DreamLeague Season 26 Prize Pool?
DreamLeague Season 26 Betting Odds
Where to Watch DreamLeague Season 26?
Where To Bet on DreamLeague Season 26?

Scheduled to start on Monday, May 19, 2025, DreamLeague Season 26 is one of the season's biggest and most prestigious Dota 2 tournaments.

Played entirely online, DreamLeague Season 26 is one of the few Tier-1 online Dota 2 events and the second DreamLeague tournament of the 2025 season.

Succeeding BLAST Slam III and preceding PGL Wallachia Season 5, DreamLeague Season 26 is one of the final events before the Esports World Cup and The International 2025 and one of the final tests for the world's top squads before the season's biggest competitions.

When Does DreamLeague Season 26 Start?

DreamLeague Season 26 is scheduled to start on Monday, May 19, 2025, with the first round of the group stage.

The tournament will run for two weeks and culminate on June 1, with the grand finals.

DreamLeague Season 26 Format

DreamLeague Season 26 will play out in three stages – two group stages and the playoffs.

The 16 participating Dota 2 teams will first be seeded into two single round-robin groups of eight teams each, with all series consisting of two games (BO2).

The top four teams from each group will advance to Group Stage 2 and will be placed in a single round-robin group of eight.

The Group Stage 2 games will be best-of-three (BO3) with the top four squads advancing to the playoffs.

The playoffs will use a double-elimination bracket with all games played as best-of-three (BO3), except for the grand final, which is best-of-five (BO5).

Group Stage 1 (May 19-22)

16 Dota 2 teams
Two single round-robin groups of eight teams
All series consist of two games
The top four teams from each group advance to the next stage

Group Stage 2 (May 23-29)

Eight Dota 2 teams
Single round-robin group
All games are played as best-of-three (BO3)
The top two teams advance to the upper bracket of the playoffs
3rd and 4th-placed teams proceed to the lower bracket

Playoffs (May 31 – June 1)

Four Dota 2 teams
Double-elimination bracket
Best-of-five (BO5) grand final
All other games are best-of-three (BO3)

DreamLeague Season 26 Teams

DreamLeague Season 26 will feature 16 Dota 2 esports teams, including four teams from the EPT Leaderboard, 10 teams who made it through regional qualifiers, and two teams from ACL X ESL Challenger China.

PARIVISION – EPT Leaderboard
BetBoom Team – EPT Leaderboard
Team Falcons – EPT Leaderboard
Team Liquid – EPT Leaderboard
NAVI Junior – Western Europe
Gaimin Gladiators – Western Europe
AVULUS – Western Europe
Aurora Gaming – Eastern Europe
Nigma Galaxy – MESWA Qualifiers
BOOM Esports – Southeast Asia
Talon Esports – Southeast Asia
Shopify Rebellion – North America
OG.LATAM – South America
Edge – South America
Xtreme Gaming – China
Yakult Brothers – China

What is the DreamLeague Season 26 Prize Pool?

DreamLeague Season 26 will offer a $1,000,000 prize pool, which is split into two parts – Player Prize Money and Club Reward, with a 75/25 split, with $750,000 in Player Prize Money and $250,000 in Club Reward.

On top of the monetary reward, DreamLeague Season 26 will also distribute 29,200 EPT points among the participants.

Champions - $250,000
Runners-up - $100,000
3rd-place - $80,000
4th-place - $60,000
5th-place - $45,000
6th-place - $35,000
7th-place - $30,000
8th-place - $25,000
9th-10th-place - $20,000
11th-12th-place - $17,500
13th-14th-place - $15,000
15th-16th-place - $10,000

DreamLeague Season 26 Betting Odds

The top betting sites have already released DreamLeague Season 26 outright betting markets, and they offer no surprises.

Team	Odds
PARIVISION	4.33
Team Liquid	4.33
Team Falcons	4.50
Gaimin Gladiators	7.50
Xtreme Gaming	8.50
BetBoom Team	11.00
Aurora Gaming	11.00
Yakult Brothers	26.00
AVULUS	34.00
Nigma Galaxy	41.00
NAVI Junior	41.00
BOOM Esports	41.00
OG.LATAM	51.00
Talon Esports	67.00
Shopify Rebellion	81.00
Edge	81.00

PARIVISION (4.33) and Team Liquid (4.33) are the two teams ot beat, having shown incredible form in the 2025 season.

PARIVISION won the ESL One Raleigh 2025 title and added podium finishes in three other big events, including FISSURE PLAYGROUND 1, DreamLeague Season 25, and PGL Wallachia.

Likewise, Team Liquid have had their time under the spotlight, with back-to-back PGL Wallachia titles in Season 3 and 4; however, they've proven less efficient in other Tier-1 events.

Team Falcons (4.50) join the short list of favourites to win DreamLeague Season 26, having proven to be a very consistent team.

They might have failed to live up to the hype, but the Falcons have been playing at an elite level, with top-three finishes at FISSURE PLAYGROUND 1, BLAST Slam II, and PGL Wallachia Season 3.

Gaimin Gladiators (7.50) and Xtreme Gaming (8.50) are the only other teams priced at single digits, and on paper, the only two squads who can challenge the leading three favourites.

Meanwhile, BetBoom Team (11.00) and Aurora Gaming (11.00) are already in the "underdog" category, which makes more sense for one but less sense for the other team.

Where to Watch DreamLeague Season 26?

DreamLeague Season 26 live streams are available via the official DreamLeague channels on streaming platforms such as Twitch and YouTube.

Esports fans can also tune in and watch the games via live streaming services offered by Stake and other top betting sites.

Visit Stake
Register with Stake promo code NEWBONUS or log in
Visit Stake > navigate to the esports markets > select the games when live
Follow the action and place in-play DreamLeague Season 26 bets

Where To Bet on DreamLeague Season 26?

Esports fans can find DreamLeague Season 26 betting markets on all of the best betting sites that cover esports. That includes many traditional bookmakers and some of the top crypto betting sites, such as Stake.

Stake is one of the best choices for Dota 2 punters, offering competitive betting odds, extensive market coverage, and generous bonuses, including a welcome bonus with Stake promo code NEWBONUS.

Verdict

DreamLeague Season 26

PARIVISION, Team Liquid, and Team Falcons are rightly priced as the three main candidates to win DreamLeague Season 26, but I would not count out BetBoom Team.

Priced at 11.00, BetBoom Team have received a direct invite to DreamLeague Season 26 through the EPT Leaderboard, which in itself is a good indication of how efficient they've been this season.
BB Team won FISSURE Universe: Episode 4 and left a positive mark in other big events, including a fourth-place finish at ESL One Raleigh 2025.

While they have yet to take the final step to earn the tag of an elite team, BB Team are very close to accomplishing that feat.

BB Team To Reach Final

To Reach Finals

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