Team Secret
Team Liquid
Ninjas in Pyjamas
PSG.LGD
Virtus.Pro
EHOME
Vici Gaming
Evil Geniuses
After the hype of the Chongqing Major comes another dota 2 event worth following, The DreamLeague Season 11. Also known as The Stockholm Major 2019, it is the third Major in the 2018–2019 dota 2 season. The esports tournament will be hosted at the Annexet Arena in Stockholm, Sweden, taking place between the 14th until 24th March. 16 professional teams will compete against each other to win their share from a staggering $1 mllion prize pool and 15K Dota Pro Circuit points will also be up for grabs.
About DreamLeague
Corsair DreamLeague is considered one of the one of the longest running dota 2 events since December 2011. Aim of the event organized by the DreamHack team is to create a dota 2 tournament that focuses on the competition in Europe and North America. Add to this, through the exposure on Twitch and TV6, the DreamLeague competition will help teams travel to LAN tournaments.
The Stockholm Major is sponsored by Monster Energy, Corsair and H4X. The Playoff matches will be open for esports fans to follow their favourite Dota teams competing on the main event held on 22nd until 24th March. The Annexet arena has a capacity for 3,950 people, where it usually hosts music concerts and Ice hockey matches and this year for the DreamLeague Season 11.
“When we launched DreamLeague in 2011, Dota 2 was in a totally different place and as we look ahead to 2019. We’re glad the Dota 2 community continues to support us, and we’ll be sure to put on the best show yet, worthy of the prestige of a Major, while keeping the flavour that Dota 2 fans expect of CORSAIR DreamLeague,” said Michael Van Driel, the Chief Product Officer of DreamHack.
Past Dreamleague Tournaments
On the 4th November 2018, DreamLeague Season 10 featured the top two finalists, Tigers vs Natus Vincere. The Grand Finals surprised all dota fans who witnessed a newly formed squad like Tigers outplay Navi with a grand score of 3:2. The SouthEast Asian unit claimed the first prize of $120K, 120 DPC points and acquired a spot in the Kuala Lumpur Major.
DreamLeague Season 9 saw how Team Secret won over Fnatic with an unbeatable score of 3-0. The European unit took a winning prize of $125K while Fnatic finished in second place to claim a reward of $70K.
The Stockholm Major Tournament Format
16 teams had to go through closed qualifiers that best represent each of the six regions. These included China, North America, South America, Europe, CIS, Southeast Asia. The Major dota event will kick off in the group stages in a double elimination bracket. Eight teams will continue advancing to the playoffs.
Dota 2 Teams competing at the Stockholm Major
Virtus.Pro
Coming from the CIS region is Virtus.Pro. A Russian dota team who have had quite a few wins through last year. Some of the best performances in 2018 include ESL Katowice 2018, ESL One Birmingham 2018 and the Kuala Lumpur Major winning first place. Another dota event worth noting was at the China Dota 2 Supermajor reaching the finals to win second place. VP’s most recent achievement was at The Chongqing Major reaching the Finals against Team Secret. The squad managed to win the CIS qualifiers of DreamLeague Season 11 to acquire their spot in the main tournament. They are certainly the best dota team from the CIS region to make it this far.
Natus Vincere
Another dota team from the CIS is Natus Vincere. A Ukrainian team that have proved they have the potential to be at the top. Navi have managed to finish second in two majors, the MegaFon Winter Clash and DreamLeague Season 10. Through several qualifiers the born to win team have shown their strength in-game, however at times they tend to struggle against top teams like Team Liquid, Fnatic and Evil Geniuses. They have not won a tournament since their participation in the Major Adrenaline Cyber League back in 2017, where they outplayed Virtus.Pro with an unbeatable score 3-1. Will Navi surprise gaming fans at DreamLeague Season 11?
PSG.LGD
The top dota team in China at the moment is PSG.LGD. The first tournament they won after the team was rebranded last April 2018 was the EPICENTER XL beating Liquid in the Grand Final with an incredible record 3-1. At the biggest annual dota tournament, The International 2018, PSG.LGD managed to reach the Grand Finals, however they seemed to have struggled against the might of OG. The most recent event the Chinese squad participated was the Chongqing Major where they lost to Evil Genuises, finishing in fourth place. How will PSG.LGD fare in the DreamLeague Stockholm Major?
Chaos Esports Club
All the way from South America is the dota team Chaos. Formerly known as Digital Chaos, the squad have a tendency to finish in the top four rankings in tournaments. Although Chaos have not won any esports titles, they have finished in second place at several qualifier tournaments. Due to their poor dota performances, they have only participated in one major in 2018, the GESC: Indonesia Dota 2 Minor. Add to these are the three North American qualifiers, Starladder ImbaTV Invitational, GESC: Thailand Dota 2 Minor and MDL Changsha Major. Chaos have started their dota 2 season of 2019 with the Chongqing Major that was held in January placing ninth. Will they step up their game in time for Dreamleague Season 11?
