DreamLeague Season 23 kicks off today, capping off a rollercoaster of top-level Dota 2 action that’s seen three major tournaments take place in the past six weeks alone. With 12 teams vying for some of the final ESL Pro Tour (EPT) Points available before Riyadh Masters, this event is crucial for teams hoping for a big payout this summer.

With a stacked lineup, and several teams performing at the peak of their abilities, and winners of PGL Wallachia, Team Spirit, absent for the event, this season of DreamLeague promises to be special. We’ve ranked all the teams in this DreamLeague Season 23 from top to bottom. And if we’re honest, one group looks a little more stacked than the other!

Group A

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As mentioned above, DreamLeague Season 23 will not feature Team Spirit, the winners of PGL Wallachia. The EEU team bottomed out of the qualifiers in an uncharacteristically poor performance. This means their chief competition in the previous tournament, Xtreme Gaming, are the clear favorites to win both the tournament and top their group.

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1. Xtreme Gaming
2. Aurora
3. Gaimin Gladiators
4. Team Liquid
5. PSG Quest
6. Heroic

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In their way, however, is one of the most stacked group stage selections in recent memory. Aurora is a dangerous team, specifically in the group stage, and has ended up in the playoff bracket in the majority of tournaments they’ve played this season. 

Gaimin Gladiators and Team Liquid are dangerous competitors as well, who’ll likely cling on for a playoff spot. And the wildcards of the group, PSG Quest and Heroic, could easily sneak by and find themselves playing spoiler to these other teams. It’s a scary group, and one that will prime its participants for playoff bracket success.

Group B

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Team Falcons have been one of the most dominant forces in Dota 2 in 2024. However, their subpar performance at PGL Wallachia exposed the fact that the team, like any, is heavily reliant on a built-up team cohesion. The team struggled without Stanislav “Malr1ne” Potorak holding down the mid, and that cost them in Bucharest.

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1. Team Falcons
2. BetBoom
3. Tundra Esports
4. Azure Ray
5. Shopify Rebellion
6. Natus Vincere

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Falcons must also face one of their biggest rivals before escaping the group, BetBoom Team. That lineup has found its way into plenty of finals in the past six months, now has the chance to escape a group stage with many of the teams they struggled against either absent or in the other group.

The rest of Group B is somewhat underwhelming. Despite an incredible performance at ESL One Kuala Lumpur back in 2023, Azure Ray hasn’t returned to anywhere near their peak form.

Tundra Esports is filled with star players, but hasn’t quite managed to perform at the level their combined MMR suggests they should. Shopify Rebellion will be playing with Andrei “skem” Ong for the first time, and Natus Vincere haven’t been tested on the international stage, although their roster is incredibly stacked. Beyond first and second place, this group could be a bloodbath.