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ROG DreamLeague Season 8 Playoffs schedule, teams and format

Your quick guide to keeping up with the second Dota 2 Pro Circuit Major of the season.

By Victoria Rose

This weekend, something Major is happening at the DreamHack Winter event: the eight season of the ROG DreamLeague Dota 2 tournament, which occurs at the massive LAN event biannually.

Not only is this the return of a popular event in the game’s community, but this year, it also acts as the second Dota Pro Circuit Major. The eight teams that have qualified are fighting for $1 million USD and a slice of the massive 1500 Qualifying Points, kicking the top four teams’ chances at TI8 invites into high gear.

Eight Dota powerhouses have fought through a long qualifying stage, taking on other top teams in their region in a grueling round-robin event to earn a slot at the LAN finals. Now, they must face off the top squads from every other region in the Pro Circuit, from China to South America.

It wouldn’t be a top Valve event without the current champions of The International, Team Liquid, but Virtus Pro pose a threat with this Major appearance after taking the top prize at the first one. Meanwhile, each other team remains a strong contender for a surprise upset at any stage in the event, including TI7 finalists Newbee, hot off their Perfect World Masters victory.

If you’re as eager to hop into the Pro Circuit action as these teams may be, we’ve got your guide to everything you need to know to start watching DreamLeague.

Format

Official Stream:

Prizes: The prize pool will be $1,000,00 USD with 1500 Qualifying Points at stake. Point distribution for teams that earn points will be as follows:

  • 1st Place — 750 Qualifying Points/player
  • 2nd Place — 450 QP/Player
  • 3rd Place — 225 QP/Player
  • 4th Place — 75 QP/Player

(Cash distribution is currently not confirmed by the event.)

If you’re still a bit confused about how the Pro Circuit will work, check out our primer about the Valve-sanctioned tournament series.

Competition Format: This event works in a double-elimination bracket with pre-seeded brackets.

  1. All teams begin in an upper bracket. If they lose, they are sent to a lower bracket. If they win, they move on through the upper bracket.
  2. All lower bracket matches are elimination matches.
  3. Both brackets play out until the finals.

Upper Bracket Finals for the first Grand Finalist take place on Saturday, December 2, and Lower Bracket Finals for the second Finalist occur Sunday, December 1. Grand Finals finish with a best-of-five match on Sunday.

Teams/Brackets:

Bracket 1:

  • Fnatic (Europe)
  • Natus Vincere (Commonwealth of Independent States)
  • Team Liquid (EU)
  • Virtus.Pro (CIS)

Bracket 2:

  • Evil Geniuses (North America)
  • Infamous (South America)
  • Newbee (China)
  • Team Secret (EU)

Schedule:

(Note: Times in ET. Due to the gap in time zones, dates will be listed next to the first match of that date. All times are approximate and will shift depending on match length. All matches are best-of-3 unless otherwise specified.)

Friday, December 1 — Day 1

Day starts 4:00 AM ET with an initial pre-show.

Due to the simultaneous nature of the matches this day, the streams will be specified for each match/event.

  • 4:00 AM — Pre-show (Bracket 1) [Stream 1]
  • 4:30 AM —
    Pre-show (Bracket 2) [Stream 2]
    VP (CIS) vs Natus Vincere (CIS) [Stream 1]
  • 5:00 AM — Liquid (EU) vs Fnatic (SEA) [Stream 2]
  • 7:30 AM — Secret (EU) vs EG (NA) [Stream 1]
  • 8:00 AM — Newbee (CN) vs Infamous (SA) [Stream 2]
  • 10:30 AM — Lower bracket round 1, match 1 [Stream 1]
  • 11:00 AM — Lower bracket round 1, match 2 [Stream 2]
  • 1:30 PM — Upper bracket semifinals, match 1 [Stream 1]
  • 2:00 PM — Upper bracket semifinals, match 2 [Stream 2]

Saturday, December 2 — Day 2

Day starts 4:00 AM ET with an initial pre-show.

  • 4:00 AM — Pre-show
  • 10:30 AM — Lower bracket round 2, match 1
  • 11:00 AM — Lower bracket round 2, match 2
  • 1:30 PM — Upper bracket finals
  • 2:00 PM — Lower bracket round 3

Sunday, December 3 — Day 3

Day starts 5:00 AM ET with an initial pre-show.

  • 5:00 AM — Pre-show
  • 5:30 AM — Lower Bracket Final
  • 9:30 AM — Grand Finals [Best-of-5]

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