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The season 19 of DreamLeague powered Intel(r), hosted by ESL FACEIT Group and the longest-running Dota 2 League, has ended with a bang. Gaimin Gladiators defeated Team Liquid 3-2 in the Grand Final. Gaimin Gladiators won the biggest share of the $1,000,000 pool, and qualified for the Riyadh Master Group Stage at Gamer8 later in the year.
DreamLeague Season 19 brought exciting updates and changes to its format and schedule. These included changes to the number and types of teams participating, as well as the different stages and tournaments. It also returned to its multiregional roots. On April 9, 16 teams competed for eight spots in Group Stage 2. The top four teams advanced to the Playoffs.
The Group Stage 1 kicked off on April 9th. It featured elite squads from around the world, including Lima Major champions Gaimin Gladiators and reigning The International Champions Tundra Esports. The 16 teams played in a round-robin format, with each match being best-of-2. Five teams were unbeaten in this phase: Gaimin Gladiators (Shopify Rebellion), Evil Geniuses (Team Liquid), and beastcoast.
In Group Stage 2, the eight teams qualified were placed in one group and fought in an all-round format of best-of-3. The eight teams were reduced to four: Team Liquid Gaimin Gladiators Shopify Rebellion and Tundra Esports. Team Liquid, Gaimin Gladiators and Shopify Rebellion dominated the second stage with 6-1 records.
The Playoffs saw the four remaining teams compete in a double-elimination bracket in a best-of-3 format. Team Liquid, and Gaimin Gladiators made it to the Grand Finals in best-of-5.
In the Grand Final, Gaimin Gladiators won the first round before Team Liquid came back and tied the score in the second round. In game three, Gaimin Gladiators continued where they had left off in round one to make it 2-1. Team Liquid dominated the fourth game, and swept Gaimin gladiators aside. This set up game 5, where Gaimin gladiators won 3-2.
Gaimin Gladiators won Group A of Group Stage 1 with a 3-4-0 score, going unbeaten against a group that included Shopify Rebellion and Evil Geniuses. In Group Stage 2, Gaimin Gladiators finished just behind Team Liquid. They were beaten by Team Liquid 2-0 in the Upper Bracket Finals of the Playoffs. This sent them to the Lower Bracket Finals where they defeated Shopify Rebellion with the same score.
The DreamLeague Season 19 Grand Final was watched for nearly 18 million hours*, with a peak audience of more than 268,000*.
“Team Liquid is an insanely strong team, but the third match was an epic comeback for us,” Quinn “Quinn Callahan” from Gaimin Gladiators said. It’s almost like taking a victory lap when you know that in just a few moments, you will win.
ESL One Berlin Dota 2 Major will be held in Berlin, Germany on April 26-May 7. The ESL Pro Tour will then continue with DreamLeague Season 20 online, which takes place from June 11 to 25. Follow ESL Dota 2 Twitter, Instagram and Facebook for more information on the ESL Pro Tour.
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