The first group stage for ESL DreamLeague Season 20 is finally over. After four days of intense entertainment, we have seen unexpected results, with the favorites eliminated and lots and lots of draw series.
Fun fact: there are 112 series in the first group stage of DreamLeague Season 20, and there were 74 series that ended with a draw. That is 66% of the total series played! No wonder the tournament has been dubbed the DrawLeague.
Now, let’s do a quick recap of what happened in the first few days of ESL DreamLeague Season 20.
Who is eliminated from DreamLeague Season 20?
In the first group stage, we have seen four teams from each group being eliminated. The followings are the teams eliminated, together with the amount of prize they will be bringing back home.
| Place | Team | Prize ($USD) |
|---|---|---|
| 9th-10th | Tundra Esports | $25,000 |
| beastcoast | ||
| 11th-12th | Team Secret | $20,000 |
| Shopify Rebellion | ||
| 13th-14th | TSM | $15,000 |
| OG | ||
| 15th-16th | Team Liquid | $10,000 |
| Entity |
European teams suffered the most this season
The European region received six invites compared to two invites for other regions. Out of all of them, five teams have been eliminated.
Team Liquid and Entity had bid goodbyes to the tournament earlier as they ended up at the bottom of Group A and Group B, respectively.
We have also seen the sunflower of Europe, OG, wilted as a result of the intense competition.
They had lost against Team Aster on the first day and continued taking one game from beastcoast, Gaimin Gladiators, and BetBoom Team.
OG has won the full series against Entity, but on the last day, they lost one game against Shopify Rebellion and couldn’t force a tiebreaker.
Tundra Esports went into the tournament as a vicious beast, high of being the champion of the recent EU DPC.
Unfortunately, after their first win against Team Liquid, they only managed to take a game off from the rest of the teams and even lost against Team Secret.
Team Secret was doing amazing despite their recent relegation to European Division II.
They managed to draw most of their serious, with an unfortunate 2-0 loss against Team Spirit.
Tundra Esports and Team Secret ended up in a tiebreaker together with Evil Geniuses.
Both of the European teams lost against Evil Geniuses, and they were both eliminated from the DreamLeague Season 20.
No North American team moving forward
Both North American teams did not manage to survive the first phase of DreamLeague Season 20.
TSM only lost a full series against Team Liquid and managed to take a game from every other team in the group, including Team Spirit, PSG.LGD and Tundra Esports.
It was also the same case for Shopify Rebellion, where they had lost 2-0 against BetBoom Team and got a 1-1 score against all the other teams in Group B.
The team did quite well despite playing with Miracle-, who has been standing in for Abed as he couldn’t come due to visa issues.
The South American team, beastcoast, almost made it out to the second phase of the tournament.
They keep on drawing their series until their 2-0 win against BetBoom Team. On the last day, they just needed a win to cross to the other side, but 9Pandas stomped them and leave them in the 9th-10th place.
Who proceeds to the next group stage?
There are eight teams who survived the first phase of the tournament. They are moving forward to battle with each other in Group Stage 2.
Gaimin Gladiators are on their way to getting their second DreamLeague championship. They won against 9Pandas and Entity convincingly and managed to draw their series against four other teams.
Despite their loss in their last game against BetBoom Team, they managed to survive Group Stage 1.
We also see the unexpected Talon Esports, who is the only SEA team participating.
They successfully took a game from every other team in Group A and surprisingly beat Team Liquid with a 2-0 score.
In addition, we also saw the SA geniuses in danger of being eliminated early. They have done pretty well, getting all draw in the DrawLeague tournament.
Evil Geniuses went through a tiebreaker against Tundra Esports and Team Secret, where they managed to escape elimination.
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EEU dominates the DreamLeague Season 20
In Group A, Team Spirit emerge as the top team. Surprisingly, they only won one full series against Team Secret and only managed to take one game off from the other teams.
However, the points are enough for them to escape to the next phase comfortably.
Meanwhile, in Group B, 9Pandas is a ferocious beast. They lost a series against Gaimin Gladiators on the first day.
However, they then won the full series convincingly against beastcoast, BetBoom Team, OG, and Entity, securing their first place.
BetBoom Team, on the other hand, managed to take down Team Aster, Shopify Rebellion, and Gaimin Gladiators, which landed them among the top teams in the tournament.
Chinese teams are here to stay
PSG.LGD has been a force to be reckoned with throughout the tournament. PSG.LGD shares the number-one spot with Team Spirit, with a complete series taken from Team Liquid and a 1-1 score for every other team.
Meanwhile, Team Aster barely make it above the elimination point. They had lost their first game against BetBoom Team.
However, the Chinese team, who is playing with Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan, powers through the tournament. They managed to win against OG and secure their qualification to the next group stage with a win against Entity.
The Group Stage 2 of DreamLeague Season 2 will start on June 16 until June 22.
Stay tuned to Gamelevate for more Dota 2 and esports news.
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