The Asian Champions League (ACL) has collaborated with ESL to bring the ACL X ESL Challenger China to life. Despite being regionally-exclusive for Chinese Dota 2 teams, the stakes are high as winners qualify for the ACL Grand Finals and DreamLeague Season 26.
And as cherry on top of that, the winners of ACL Grand Finals also qualify for the Esports World Cup 2025.
ACL x ESL Challengers China Dota 2 (Image credit: ACL)
Tune into ACL’s official Twitch channel, where the live broadcasts will be available on May 1-3 .
Given the qualifier’s short timeline, the ACL X ESL Challenger China cuts straight to only having a double-elimination playoffs bracket between eight teams. The first round is a best-of-one, but we can expect the standard best-of-three format for most games, except the best-of-five grand final.
The first and second-place winners qualify for DreamLeague S26 and ACL Grand Finals, while the third and fourth-place teams still qualify for ACL Grand Finals. However, the Dota 2 teams are definitely eyeing on the ACL Grand Finals over the other since winning ACL Grand Finals earn them a spot in the Esports World Cup 2025.
The ACL X ESL Challenger China is exclusively for Chinese Dota 2 teams, where they invited four of the leading Chinese teams, such as Xtreme Gaming, Yakult Brothers, Team Tidebound and Fate’s Edge.
The other four teams qualified via the open qualifier rounds, featuring ToLight Team, Tearlaments, Excel Esports, and Future Gaming. These Chinese teams are mostly unfamiliar and likely unsponsored as well, but they are notable by Chinese Dota 2 players.
Between the eight candidates, Team Tidebound, Xtreme Gaming and Yakult Brothers are the favorites participating at ACL
Unfortunately, these are the best China has got to offer this season, which is a shame because the region’s strengths have certainly diminished over the years. Nevertheless, between their Chinese rivals, they are still on a completely different playing field as a high-performing Dota 2 team. If we have to choose, however, Team Tidebound looks the strongest of the bunch to be winning first place.
Considering how the mentioned favorites are each playing against an open qualifier team, it would be a miracle for any of these underdogs to make it past round 1.
However, since it is a best-of-one round, it’s not out of question for an upset to occur. One of the most promising teams is Future Gaming. Looking at their matches in open qualifier, this line-up has decent hero pool to create a robust draft. In a best-of-one round, a favorable strategy can easily turn on a stronger opponent.
The same can be said for Excel Esports, which boasts a more reputable roster, featuring Tang “CatYou” Xiaolei and Ru “RedPanda” Zhihao. But, the odds are still against them as their first round is against Team Tidebound.
We just can’t emphasise enough how appealing the rewards are for performing well and winning the ACL X ESL Challenger China. From qualifying for DreamLeague S26 , which is already a million-dollar tournament, to the Asian Champions League Grand Finals with a chance to earn a spot in Esports World Cup 2025.
In hindsight, the Chinese Dota 2 teams are blessed with such an amazing tournament at ACL X ESL Challenger China, which earned them an easy method of securing a slot at the tournament with highest prize pool. That’s the golden ticket for every Dota 2 pro player to secure this season, especially with $3 million in prize pool winnings up for grabs.
