DreamLeague Season 28: Format, Schedule, Fixtures, and More

The ESL Pro Tour is officially back in 2026, and DreamLeague Season 28 marks the first step of the series. Sixteen teams will battle for a share of a million-dollar prize over three stages spread across two weeks.

Now, we will take a closer look at how the tournament is organized, all the invited teams, the event stages, and the schedule for the first Group Stage, which will start very soon.

DreamLeague Season 28: Lineup

As usual, we start by checking the lineup of invited and qualified teams going into the first Group Stage. There are sixteen teams coming from all over the globe, and the stakes are as high as it gets.

Check the full lineup below:

• Team Yandex (Direct Invite)
• Team Spirit (Direct Invite)
• PARIVISION (Direct Invite)
• Xtreme Gaming (Direct Invite)
• OG (Direct Invite)
• Tundra Esports (Direct Invite)
• MOUZ (Western European Qualifiers)
• Team Liquid (Western European Qualifiers)
• Natus Vincere (Western European Qualifiers)
• Team Falcons (Western European Qualifiers)
• BetBoom Team (Eastern European Qualifiers)
• Yakult Brothers (ESL Challenger China)
• Execration (Southeast Asian Qualifiers)
• GamerLegion (North American Qualifiers)
• paiN Gaming (South American Qualifiers)
• Aurora Gaming (DreamLeague Division 2 Season 3 Champions)

The biggest surprise this time is the return of DreamLeague’s Division 2 into the lineup. Aurora Gaming won the Division 2 Grand Final against Nigma Galaxy and punched their ticket to DreamLeague Season 28.

DreamLeague Season 28: Organization

DreamLeague Season 28 will have two Group Stages and the Playoffs over the span of two weeks. The First Group Stage will start on February 16. Teams will play a round-robin with two groups and best-of-2 disputes, counting points.

After the first stage is over on February 20, the top four teams of each group go to the Second Group Stage. On the other hand, the bottom four teams get eliminated from DreamLeague Season 28.

The Second Group Stage is another round-robin with the eight remaining teams, but matches will be best-of-3. Teams will once again see their numbers cut in half.

The top two teams in the Second Group Stage go to the Upper Bracket of the Playoffs. Teams that place third and fourth go to the Lower Bracket of the Playoffs. The remaining teams get eliminated from the tournament.

Finally, the Playoffs are a traditional double-elimination bracket with best-of-3 disputes and a best-of-5 Grand Final.

DreamLeague Season 28: Talent

DreamLeague Season 28 has exciting news on the talent lineup, bringing back public favorites and new faces alike. On the more well-known side of the talent, we have Aydin “Insania” Sarkohi following the tendency of retired players and joining the talent desk as a commentator.

On the remote talent side, we are proud to announce that one of Strafe’s great talents is ready for some action. Ahmed “Otomo” Al-Azawi will show us his skills and join everyone on the DreamLeague Season 28 casting team.

DreamLeague Season 28: First Group Stage Schedule

DreamLeague Season 28 starts at a pretty good time for fans near the GMT timezone. Here is the full schedule for each day in the First Group Stage:

Day 1: February 16

• paiN Gaming vs. PARIVISION — 11:00 GMT
• Team Spirit vs. Xtreme Gaming — 13:30 GMT
• BetBoom Team vs. Aurora Gaming — 16:00 GMT
• Tundra Esports vs. MOUZ — 18:30 GMT

Day 2: February 17

• Team Liquid vs. Team Yandex — 11:00 GMT
• paiN Gaming vs. Aurora Gaming — 11:00 GMT
• OG vs. Yakult Brothers — 11:00 GMT
• Team Falcons vs. Natus Vincere — 13:30 GMT
• Team Spirit vs. MOUZ — 13:30 GMT
• GamerLegion vs. Execration — 13:30 GMT
• OG vs. Team Yandex — 16:00 GMT
• PARIVISION vs. BetBoom Team — 16:00 GMT
• Team Liquid vs. Yakult Brothers — 16:00 GMT
• Tundra Esports vs. Xtreme Gaming — 18:30 GMT
• Natus Vincere vs. GamerLegion — 18:30 GMT
• Team Falcons vs. Execration — 18:30 GMT

Day 3: February 18

• BetBoom Team vs. Team Yandex — 11:00 GMT
• PARIVISION vs. Team Liquid — 11:00 GMT
• paiN Gaming vs. OG — 11:00 GMT
• Aurora Gaming vs. Yakult Brothers — 11:00 GMT
• Team Spirit vs. Natus Vincere — 13:30 GMT
• Team Falcons vs. MOUZ — 13:30 GMT
• Tundra Esports vs. GamerLegion — 13:30 GMT
• Xtreme Gaming vs. Execration — 13:30 GMT
• PARIVISION vs. OG — 16:00 GMT
• Team Liquid vs. Aurora Gaming — 16:00 GMT
• paiN Gaming vs. BetBoom Team — 16:00 GMT
• Yakult Brothers vs. Team Yandex — 16:00 GMT
• Team Spirit vs. Tundra Esports — 18:30 GMT
• Xtreme Gaming vs. Natus Vincere — 18:30 GMT
• Team Falcons vs. GamerLegion — 18:30 GMT
• MOUZ vs. Execration — 18:30 GMT

Day 4: February 19

• PARIVISION vs. Team Yandex — 11:00 GMT
• BetBoom Team vs. Team Liquid — 11:00 GMT
• OG vs. Aurora Gaming — 11:00 GMT
• paiN Gaming vs. Yakult Brothers — 11:00 GMT
• Team Spirit vs. Team Falcons — 13:30 GMT
• Natus Vincere vs. MOUZ — 13:30 GMT
• Xtreme Gaming vs. GamerLegion — 13:30 GMT
• Tundra Esports vs. Execration — 13:30 GMT
• OG vs. Team Liquid — 16:00 GMT
• PARIVISION vs. Aurora Gaming — 16:00 GMT
• Team Yandex vs. paiN Gaming — 16:00 GMT
• BetBoom Team vs. Yakult Brothers — 16:00 GMT
• Xtreme Gaming vs. Team Falcons — 18:30 GMT
• Tundra Esports vs. Natus Vincere — 18:30 GMT
• MOUZ vs. GamerLegion — 18:30 GMT
• Team Spirit vs. Execration — 18:30 GMT

Day 5: February 20

• Team Yandex vs. Aurora Gaming — 11:00 GMT
• OG vs. BetBoom Team — 11:00 GMT
• Team Liquid vs. paiN Gaming — 11:00 GMT
• PARIVISION vs. Yakult Brothers — 11:00 GMT
• Tundra Esports vs. Team Falcons — 13:30 GMT
• Xtreme Gaming vs. MOUZ — 13:30 GMT
• Team Spirit vs. GamerLegion — 13:30 GMT
• Natus Vincere vs. Execration — 13:30 GMT

First Group Stage: Best Matchups

There are countless matches to watch during the First Group Stage and we will give you some tips on the potential best match of each day:

Day 1: Tundra Esports vs. MOUZ

Tundra Esports has recently lost their BLAST Slam championship and will face an equally demoralized MOUZ, which got eliminated by GamerLegion in the tournament. Both teams will use the other to try to get back on track toward consistent performances.

Day 2: Team Liquid vs. Team Yandex

After a great run at BLAST Slam VI, Team Liquid and Team Yandex face each other in the DreamLeague Season 28 Group Stage. They did not meet in the BLAST Playoffs, but Yandex got the win during their Group Stage encounter.

Day 3: PARIVISION vs. OG

OG goes to battle against PARIVISION, which skipped the BLAST Slam and recently welcomed Puppey as their new coach. PARI has been slowly declining, and now we will see the result of the time Clement had to whip them back into shape.

Day 4: Team Spirit vs. Team Falcons

Team Spirit versus Team Falcons is a clash of titans that failed to push forward at BLAST Slam VI. Both teams have a chance to reach the second stage, and at this point in the First Group Stage, one point might be all one of them needs to get left out of the fun once again.

Day 5: Team Liquid vs. paiN Gaming

Finally, Team Liquid will play against paiN Gaming on their last day of the First Group Stage. For paiN Gaming, facing the most recent BLAST champions will be an opportunity to bleed a new roster against a worthy opponent.

Closing Thoughts

DreamLeague Season 28’s First Group Stage will rekindle recent rivalries from BLAST Slam VI. Great teams will face each other, and many of them will have to struggle with a lack of downtime and resulting fatigue.

We will keep a close eye on the first step of the ESL Pro Tour going into 2026 and report back with the results once the Group Stages are over. If you want to stay informed about the latest news on DreamLeague Season 28 and the EPT, check out our news section on the Strafe website!

Featured Image Source: YouTube (@ESLDota2)