DreamLeague S22: North American results
DreamLeague S22 is set to be an exciting Dota 2 competition boasting a generous prize pool of $1 million. Scheduled to run from February 25 to March 10, this tournament will showcase the skills of 16 participating teams, with 12 of them earning their spots through rigorous qualification processes. Notably, BetBoom Team, Gaimin Gladiators, Xtreme Gaming, and Team Liquid secured direct invitations due to their impressive performances on the EPT leaderboard.
Today the winner of the third ticket to DreamLeague S22 will also become known: it will be played by the Ukrainian Natus Vincere, the Kazakh team Nemiga Gaming, as well as the Russian 9Pandas and Klim Sani4.
The North American qualifiers provided an enthralling spectacle for viewers. After an intense best-of-five grand final and a nail-biting 67-minute fifth game, Shopify Rebellion emerged as the triumphant team, defeating Nouns. Despite the absence of Tal “Fly” Aizik’s seasoned leadership, it appears that his former team can still rely on the exceptional talent of Artur “Arteezy” Babaev to secure victories.
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Results
The tournament featured a total of eight teams, with many familiar names for North American fans, although most of the players were relatively unknown. The participants hailed from various countries, including Brazil, Ukraine, South Korea, Romania, Germany, Canada, and the USA. The primary favorites heading into the tournament were Nouns and Shopify Rebellion. Nouns, led by Fly, were considered slightly stronger due to his experienced leadership. Shopify Rebellion, on the other hand, had to navigate through the open qualifiers, making their chances of winning slightly lower.
The two teams faced off for the first time in the upper bracket semifinals, and to everyone’s surprise, Rebellion emerged victorious in a convincing manner. They employed unconventional hero selections like Chen, Techies, Invoker, Arc Warden, and Pangolier. While these picks may not have aligned with the current meta, they still proved effective. Nouns, on the other hand, focused on drafting powerful lineups relying on burst damage. Among their hero choices were Timber, Ursa, Magnus, and Abaddon. The first game stretched to 48 minutes, while the second concluded in just 32 minutes.
Following this outcome, it was widely expected that the two teams would meet again in the grand finals. Nouns secured three consecutive wins in the lower bracket without dropping a game, highlighting the significant gap between the top two teams and the rest of the competition.
In the grand finals, Shopify secured victories in the first two games utilizing an intriguing strategy centered around Phoenix. Interestingly, they managed to eliminate the bird hero four times in five games. However, Nouns bounced back in Games 3 and 4, capitalizing on the Vengeful Spirit + Techies + Terrorblade combination, which proved highly effective.
However, in the fifth and decisive game, Shopify reverted to their successful formula from the first game, while their opponents attempted to experiment with new strategies. Unfortunately for Nouns, their innovative approach backfired, and they ultimately missed their chance to compete in DreamLeague S22.
Participants of DreamLeague Season 22 in Dota 2
- BetBoom Team (Russia) – direct invite
- Gaimin Gladiators (Europe) – direct invite
- Xtreme Gaming (China) – direct invite
- Team Liquid (Sweden) – direct invite
- winner of qualification in Western Europe
- winner of qualification in Western Europe
- winner of qualification in Western Europe
- Team Spirit (Russia)
- Virtus.pro (Russia)
- winner of qualification in Eastern Europe
- Azure Ray (China)
- winner of qualification in China
- South East Asia Qualifier Winner
- Middle East Qualifier Winner
- North American Qualifier Winner
- South American Qualifier Winner
The main stage of the DreamLeague Season 22 global championship will be held online from February 25 to March 10. 16 teams will compete for a prize fund of $1 million.
