DreamLeague Season 26 is here, the final Dota 2 action for the series this season. This high-stakes tournament means a lot for the teams involved. Not only is there a massive $1 million prize pool on the line, but also a bunch of ESL Pro Tour (EPT) Points. These points play a big role in deciding who makes it to the Esports World Cup Dota 2 competition, which comes with millions more in prize money.
While most teams are still grinding for those valuable EPT Points, a few have already locked in their spot at the EWC thanks to their top 10 positions on the EPT leaderboard. PARIVISION, BetBoom Team, Team Liquid, Gaimin Gladiators, and Team Falcons are already in, so they can afford to take a more relaxed approach to this one.
On the flip side, Team Spirit and Tundra Esports were originally invited but ended up withdrawing for a breather.
DreamLeague kicks off on May 19 and runs for 14 days of intense competition. With the bigger tournaments just around the corner, this is the last big show before the storm. Let’s take a look at the favorites, dark horses, and underdogs heading into the event.
Favorites: Top Teams of DreamLeague Season 26
There are a bunch of strong teams at DreamLeague Season 26, but the two that really stand out as favorites to reach the Grand Finals are PARIVISION and Team Falcons. Here’s why we’re backing them.
Picking PARIVISION is kind of a no-brainer. They’ve been solid all season, kicking things off with a win at ESL One Bangkok and following it up with another trophy at ESL One Raleigh. They also placed second at PGL Wallachia Season 4, only dropping a single map to Team Liquid.
Sure, their performance at BLAST Slam III was a bit shaky, but they’ve had time to bounce back. With rising star Satanic on the team, there’s a lot of potential for growth, especially as he gains more experience.
Falcons are a trickier pick - not because they’re not strong, but because the competition is super close at the top. They crushed it through most of 2024, but hit some bumps heading into 2025. That said, they came back strong at BLAST Slam III, finishing second behind Tundra Esports. If they can keep that momentum going, Falcons are going to be a real threat at DreamLeague.
Dark Horses: The Wild Cards of DreamLeague
Any roster change brings uncertainty, and V-Tune doesn’t quite have that S-Tier rep as a carry. That makes Liquid’s performance a little harder to predict this time around.
BetBoom has always had potential. They’ve also won two events this season, BLAST Slam I and FISSURE Universe Episode 4, which is a big step up from previous years. But they’re still missing the podium consistency that top teams have.
They placed a solid fourth at ESL One Raleigh, but their showings at Wallachia Season 4 and BLAST Slam III weren’t as promising. BetBoo can shine on a good day, but terribly crash out on bad ones.
Team Tidebound may have received the direct invite to TI, but Xtreme Gaming looks like the strongest Chinese team right now. They proved it at the recent Asian Champions League, where they beat Tidebound to qualify for the Esports World Cup. XG is in good form, but we’ll have to wait and see how far they can go.
Still, despite the rocky start to the season, they’re finding their groove again. They won the Western Europe qualifier for this event and grabbed a top 4 finish at BLAST Slam III. Plus, they recently got their TI 14 invite, which probably gave them a big confidence boost. GG might just deliver this DreamLeague S26.
This young lineup is full of raw potential. NAVI Junior is the youngest team in the tournament and has been turning heads lately. Their top 8 finish at PGL Wallachia Season 4 was way better than most expected. In a glance, it might seem like another Team Spirit in the making. That might be a stretch, but hey, you never know!
Aurora feels like BetBoom 2.0. The team is clearly strong but still missing that extra push to break into the top tier. That said, they did recently knock BetBoom out of BLAST Slam III with a clean 2-0, which is saying something. Still, it's not quite enough to bump them out of the dark horse zone just yet.
Their recent results are actually a big step up from the past few seasons. There was a time they struggled to compete in the Middle East, let alone Western Europe. If the stars align, we might finally see a Nigma comeback.
Last on the list, we’ve got Avulus. They recently swapped captains, with Fly stepping in for Sonneiko. Although things started off strong for them earlier this season, their results have dipped lately. A bottom finish at Wallachia Season 4 may just be a discouraging point for the team. Still, since they compete in the ultra-stacked Western Europe region, we don’t find them as total underdogs.
Underdogs of DreamLeague: Nothing to Lose
You often see familiar faces in the underdogs pool, but this time, things get interesting with the debut of OG.LATAM — a hybrid team bringing together talent from both regions. Formerly known as Perrito Panzon, this squad is now playing under the legendary OG banner. It sounds exciting on paper, but we’ll have to wait and see what they can really do.
Talon Esports is also worth watching. With 23savage back in the lineup, they might be able to recapture the form they showed back in 2023.
Shopify Rebellion has made a change too, bringing in Davai Lama as their new offlaner. Rounding out the underdog list are Edge from South America, BOOM Esports representing SEA, and China’s Yakult Brothers.
Opening matchups
Group A
Group B
Odds are taken from the Stake betting website and are current at the time of publication.
DreamLeague Season 26 will take place online from May 19 to June 1. Teams will compete for a prize pool of one million dollars and 29,200 EPT points. You can follow the schedule, results, and tournament news via the link.
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