Tournament organizer ESL has announced significant changes to its Dota 2 tournament ecosystem. Information about the upcoming changes was published on the company`s website and will take effect starting with the 2025-2026 season.
Going forward, the ESL Pro Tour (EPT) will be structured around the spring ESL One tournament, serving as the main mid-season event. The structure for each season will include a total of four major tournaments: three DreamLeague events and one ESL One.
Organizational details for individual championships have also been refined. ESL One will be expanded from 12 to 16 participants. All events within the DreamLeague series will now feature varying formats and different numbers of team slots. ESL representatives have committed to holding open qualifiers for every competition.
Additionally, starting from the next EPT season, DreamLeague will introduce a second division. The annual DreamLeague Division 2 series is intended to be a set of tier-2 tournaments designed to help bridge the skill gap between elite teams and emerging ones.
DreamLeague Division 2 events will take place in European regions. The 2025-2026 season is set to include four such competitions, offering a combined prize pool of $200,000. More detailed information will be announced later.
Specific Tournament Formats Planned:
DreamLeague 1
- Number of Teams:
- 24
- Format:
- Group stage with a Swiss system and a double-elimination playoff bracket. All matches are best-of-3, except for the grand final.
DreamLeague 2
- Number of Teams:
- 16
- Format:
- A classic two-week DreamLeague tournament featuring two group stages and playoffs.
DreamLeague 3
- Number of Teams:
- 16
- Format:
- Two groups of eight teams playing in a round-robin format. Playoffs use a double-elimination bracket.
ESL One
- Number of Teams:
- 12
- Format:
- A single group with round-robin matches, followed by playoffs. No best-of-1 matches.
Finley Holt