DreamLeague S19 Is Dominated by Western European Teams

DreamLeague S19 started with 16 of the world’s best teams. These teams came from all around the world: China, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, North America, and South America.

But after the first stage, three of the six regions no longer had any representatives. Only Western European and American teams were left. The percentages here are important: 50% Western European, 25% North American, 25% South American.

Out of the eight teams that survived the first stage of the competition, four of them are Western European and three of those teams are arguably the strongest in the race right now. These teams are Team Liquid, Gaimin Gladiators, and Tundra Esports. Two of them finished The International 2022 in the top three.

https://twitter.com/GaiminGladiator/status/1646532341316337672

WEU’s Results in Dota 2

Western Europe seems to have developed a very rigorous play style that is hard to counter by the other five regions. When they lose, WEU teams tend to lose while competing among themselves.

Right now, there is a fierce rivalry between Gaimin Gladiators and Team Liquid, but also between these two teams and Tundra Esports. Most TI champions are satisfied to win the Aegis of Champions once and then become just another tier-1 competitor. But Tundra are giving us clear signs that they intend to fight for the title this year.

WEU’s Results at DreamLeague S19

Stage 1 of DreamLeague S19 was quite brutal because only eight teams were allowed to advance. Both groups were won by WEU teams, who did not lose a single match. Gaimin Gladiators finished with a 3 W – 4 D – 0 L record while Liquid finished with a 4 W – 3 D – 0 L record. Tundra and OG both lost one match but still qualified for stage 2.

https://twitter.com/TeamLiquid/status/1645884089080365056

In the first three days of stage 2, the best three WEU teams won two of their matches and lost one. Liquid got defeated by Gladiators, Tundra got defeated by Liquid, and Gladiators got defeated by Shopify Rebellion, who were in great shape on the second day.

If the trend continues, we will have three or even four WEU teams in the playoffs, which will consist of a double-elimination tournament with just four participants. One team that seems capable of contesting Western Europe’s dominance is Evil Geniuses, whose current record is 2 W – 1 L.

Header: ESL