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DreamLeague Season 22 Group Stages: The Victors and The Eliminated
The first group stage of DreamLeague Season 22 was full of surprises. As it came to an end, there were surprises as most Titans fell while the upcoming teams quickly took their spot. Additionally, the drama between Tundra Esports and Ivan "MinD_ContRoL" Ivanov took everyone off guard.
Credits: Tundra Esports
DreamLeague Season 22 was one of the events the Dota 2 community has set its eyes on. It features a million-dollar prize pool and EPT points, which could help teams secure a direct invite for this year’s iteration of Riyadh Masters. Before the start of the second stage of the group stages of DreamLeagues, let’s take a moment to reflect on all the actions that have happened within this past week.
The Eliminated
Credits: Twitter.@ESLDota2
It is surprising to witness several strong teams getting eliminated during the early stages of the tournament. Additionally, many of the eliminated teams hail from Western Europe - a region that has been a constant powerhouse in recent years but has been showing signs of cracks.
Credits: Valve
Valve recently released a gameplay patch update before the start of the tournament. As a result, many of the teams had only a short time to strategize and adapt to the new patch. While some teams figured out the patch as they entered the tournament, some unfortunately floundered.
Team Liquid, which had consistently placed second in almost every tournament they participated in, was among the teams that got eliminated from Group B.
Unfortunately, they failed to adapt to the patch in time, which resulted in their placement at the bottom of the group and an early exit from the tournament. However, they were not the only WEU teams to suffer this fate.
Team Secret and Tundra Esports also joined their regional brethren. 1win is the only Eastern European that got eliminated from the same group.'
Additionally, Team Liquid was not the only juggernaut that fell. Azure Ray, the recent ESL One Kuala Lumpur Champions, also displayed a mixed performance and got eliminated. Along with them, Virtus Pro, Heroic and G2 IG also got eliminated from Group A.
The Victors
Credits: Twitter.@ESLDota2
At DreamLeague Season 22, Southeast Asia and North America showed tremendous signs of promise. Aurora Esports and Shopify Rebellion, the only representatives for each region, had a three-way tie with Xtreme Gaming for the top seed in Group B.
Credits: Twitter.@ESLOne
Moreover, at Group A, OG may come into the tournament with a stand-in. However, despite not playing with their full roster, the team showed signs of promise. They took clean, swift wins against Gaimin Gladiators and Virtus Pro in the tiebreaker series to secure their spot. Overall, eight teams proceed to the second stage of DreamLeague Season 22 group stages. They are as follows:
- Aurora
- BetBoom Team
- Gaimin Gladiators
- OG
- Shopify Rebellion
- Team Falcons
- Team Spirit
- Xtreme Gaming
The Next Stage
The second stage of the group stage will start on March 1st. All the matches will be played as best of 3 series. Only four teams will proceed to the playoffs after the end of the second group stages. The first and second-placing teams will advance to the upper bracket, while the third and fourth-placing teams will proceed to the lower bracket. The champion of the DreamLeague Season 22 will be crowned on March 10th.
Featured Image Source: Twitter.@ESLOneDota2
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