DreamLeague Season 21 in retrospect
DreamLeague Season 21 officially closed its curtains on September 24th as Team Spirit triumphed as the champions, taking home USD 300,000 and a renewed sense of confidence heading into The International 12.
The tournament consisted of a million-dollar prize pool and sixteen teams from around the world. It's also the last time teams can practice before heading into the biggest Dota 2 tournament of the year.
An Overview
Collapse Nisha TOFU and Mira. Credits: TwitterThe tournament had many unexpected results, such as the early exit of Team Liquid, Talon Esports, and Gaimin Gladiators.
On the flip side, Shopify Rebellion reminded everyone of the glorious North American Dota 2 days. Eventually, Shopify’s resilient efforts earned them a runner-up spot at the tournament.
The tournament featured a new format for DreamLeague tournaments. ESL had not officially announced whether it played a part in The Riyadh Masters 2024.
Some Viewership Statistics
DreamLeague Season 21 had a stream time of 70 hours and 15 minutes. During its airtime, the tournament had 388 582 viewers at its peak. It had an average of 158 743 viewers with 11 151 675 hours watched.
DreamLeague Season 21 leads in viewership compared to its predecessors.
The increase in viewership could suggest that ESL had figured out how to attract viewers to their tournaments despite the tournaments not being part of the official DPC.
It could suggest that viewers enjoy the top-notch talents and production ESL put into their tournaments.
At its peak, The Berlin Major, an official DPC Major hosted by Valve, had 507 620 viewers. It had an average of 235 258 viewers in its 120 hours and 25 minutes of airtime.
With Valve ending the official DPC Season, a collaboration between Valve and ESL could bring more numbers to Dota 2 tournaments.
Draft Statistics
Vengeful Spirit, Warlock, and Shadow Demon Credits: Twitter
At the tournament, Vengeful Spirit was the most picked hero. The hero got drafted in 35 matches and had a win rate of 54.29%.
Shadow Demon is the second most contested hero; it had a 53.48% win rate in 31 matches.
The third most contested hero was Warlock, a resurging support hero in the current meta. The hero had a 50% win rate in 30 matches.
Phantom Assassin, the most popular safelaner for the current meta, had a 59.09% win rate in 22 matches at the tournament.
Phantom AssassinCredits: Twitter/@ESLDota
Surprisingly, Terrorblade received more attention than Phantom Assassin. The hero had a 50% win rate in 24 matches.
Earth Spirit, the hero of the meta, had a 57.14% win rate at the tournament. Earth Spirit was drafted more as a midlaner rather than its traditional role, soft support.
Multiple teams opted for the meta heroes. However, Team Spirit became the champions by drafting their comfort heroes.
Moving forward
The International 2023 is on the horizon. Valve learned a hard lesson last year, as there were multiple issues at The International.
Valve is taking a new approach for this year’s iteration of The Internationals.
Dota 2 player count is increasing againCredits: Reddit
Read More At Strafe Esports: Team Spirit are your DreamLeague Season 21 Champions!