Team Spirit Skips DreamLeague Season 26

Team Spirit have now decided to skip DreamLeague Season 26. The next eligible team on the ESL Pro Tour leaderboard was Team Liquid. Following this adjustment, the four invited teams for DL26 are Liquid, Falcons, BetBoom, and PARIVISION.

Despite speculation that Team Spirit wants to avoid burnout, the next DreamLeague has a lot at stake. The points earned from the tournament count towards the EPT leaderboard. By extension, these points contribute to securing a direct invite to the Riyadh Masters.

Team Spirit Takes a Big Risk

With the Esports World Cup scheduled for July 7th, only ESL One Raleigh and DreamLeague Season 26 remain before the event. Giving up the opportunity to earn 7,200 EPT points is a significant decision, especially for a team aiming to qualify for Riyadh.

This move is particularly risky because the next team in line is Team Liquid. The Western European squad currently holds 5th place on the EPT leaderboard, and this "free" slot might just be enough to push Spirit out of the Top 4. Only the Top 4 teams on the leaderboard receive direct invites to the next ESL tournament, including the Riyadh Masters.

It’s hard to view this as a good move, but surely Team Spirit knows what they’re doing — right? (Credit: ESL)

If their plan is to rest after ESL One and qualify through other means, it’s still a gamble. While they can outplay most teams, a single misstep could mean missing out on the biggest prize pool of the year.

Skipping DreamLeague means forfeiting nearly as many points as Team Falcons, who currently hold 4th place, have in total. This decision suggests that Team Spirit is either extremely confident or dealing with a significant issue.

Best-Case and Worst-Case Scenarios

With 7,040 points up for grabs at ESL One and 7,200 at DreamLeague, let’s analyze the possible outcomes. If Team Spirit wins ESL One back-to-back, they would accumulate 14,740 points. This would mean Team Liquid needs to earn over 9,150 points across both tournaments to surpass them.

Assuming the other three teams also earn points, Liquid would likely need to place second in both tournaments. If Team Spirit goes all-in and wins ESL One Raleigh, they might just pull it off. Notably, Team Liquid has yet to finish second in any EPT tournaments this year.

Given Team Liquid's performance before and after Wallachia, this plan might just work. (Credit: ESL)

Meanwhile, Team Spirit must also consider other tournaments outside of the ESL Pro Tour. Between Raleigh and the Esports World Cup, Wallachia Season 4 and BLAST Slam III are still on the calendar.

Even if they participate in both, by the end of BLAST Slam III on May 11th, Spirit would still have a month and a half to rest. While this decision initially seemed questionable, after running the numbers, it turns out to be a more calculated risk than expected.

Can Team Spirit win ESL One and replicate their DreamLeague success? (Credit: Twitter @TSpirit_Dota2)

With all this in mind, the key question remains: how will they perform at ESL One? Team Spirit won the last DreamLeague, but can they do it again in the USA next week?

To follow Team Spirit’s journey and stay updated on all things Dota 2, keep reading our coverage on the Strafe website!

Featured Image Cover: 22esport and PNGTree