Gaimin Gladiators and Team Falcons finished atop their respective groups on Wednesday at the $1 million online DreamLeague Season 23 event.
Gaimin Gladiators and Xtreme Gaming advanced to the upper bracket of the playoffs from Group A, while Falcons and Tundra Esports did the same from Group B.
The third- and fourth-place teams from each group moved into the lower bracket of the playoffs, with Aurora and HEROIC advancing from Group A and Azure Ray and BetBoom Team from Group B.
Group A’s Team Liquid and PSG Quest and Group B’s Shopify Rebellion and Natus Vincere were eliminated from the Dota 2 tournament after finishing the three-day group stage in fifth and sixth places.
Gaimin Gladiators ended group play with a 3-2-0 record following Wednesday’s 1-1 draw with Aurora. Falcons improved to 4-1-0 with a 2-0 sweep against Natus Vincere.
The double-elimination playoffs begin Thursday, with all matches best-of-three until Sunday’s best-of-five grand final.
Thursday’s upper-bracket semifinals:
–Gaimin Gladiators vs. Tundra Esports
–Team Falcons vs. Xtreme Gaming
Lower Bracket Round 1:
–Aurora vs. BetBoom Team
–Azure Ray vs. Heroic
Final Group A standings (match W-D-L, map record)
1. Gaimin Gladiators (3-2-0, 8-2)
2. Xtreme Gaming (3-1-1, 7-3)
3. Aurora (1-3-1, 5-5)
4. HEROIC (1-2-2, 4-6)
5. Team Liquid (1-2-2, 4-6)
6. PSG Quest (0-2-3, 2-8)
Final Group B standings (match W-D-L, map record)
1. Team Falcons (4-1-0, 9-1)
2. Tundra Esports (3-1-1, 7-3)
3. Azure Ray (1-2-2, 4-6)
4. BetBoom Team (2-0-3, 4-6)
5. Shopify Rebellion (0-3-2, 3-7)
6. Natus Vincere (1-1-3, 3-7)
DreamLeague Season 23 prize pool (money, ESL Pro Tour points)
1. $300,000, 6,000 points — TBD
2. $175,000, 5,000 — TBD
3. $120,000, 4,000 — TBD
4. $85,000, 3,200 — TBD
5-6. $57,500, 2,200 — TBD
7-8. $47,500, 1,000 — TBD
9-10. $30,000, 500 — Team Liquid, Shopify Rebellion
11-12. $25,000, 250 — PSG Quest, Natus Vincere
–Field Level Media