Team Falcons edged Aurora 2-1 on Wednesday to remain perfect in Group Stage 2 action at DreamLeague Season 22.
After Aurora took the first map in 39 minutes on red, Team Falcons responded with victories on green — in 22 and 47 minutes — to improve to 6-0. Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf of Jordan was instrumental in the comeback victory, recording an average kill-death-assist ratio of 4.0-2.3-7.3.
Thailand’s Anucha “Jabz” Jirawong paced Aurora with a 6.0-3.3-5.3 average K-D-A.
DreamLeague Season 22 began with 16 top Dota 2 teams from around the world competing for shares of the $1 million prize pool. Eight teams advanced out of Group Stage 1.
Group Stage 2 features one round robin of the top eight teams, and matches are best-of-three. The playoffs will be a four-team, double-elimination bracket. The grand final will be a best-of-five match.
Critical ESL Pro Tour points toward qualification for additional 2024 events are also on the line. The event concludes March 10 at Meltdown London.
All four matches on Wednesday were decided by 2-1 scores, with Team Spirit beating BetBoom Team, Gaimin Gladiators topping OG and Xtreme Gaming getting the best of Shopify Rebellion.
Like Team Falcons, Team Spirit fell into an early hole before posting back-to-back victories — in 39 minutes on red and in 30 minutes on red. Russian Denis “Larl” Sigitov had an average ratio of 4.3-3.0-10.7 for the winners.
Gaimin Gladiators opened their match with a 52-minute victory on green before falling in 36 minutes on red. Gaimin dispatched OG in 38 minutes on red to clinch the win.
Xtreme Gaming sandwiched a pair of wins on red around a loss on green to hold off Shopify.
Group Stage 2 concludes Thursday with four matches:
–BetBoom Team vs. Aurora
–OG vs. Team Spirit
–Team Falcons vs. Shopify Rebellion
–Xtreme Gaming vs. Gaimin Gladiators
Group Stage 2 standings (match W-L, map record)
1. Team Falcons (6-0, 12-1)
2. BetBoom Team (4-2, 9-7)
T3. Gaimin Gladiators (3-3, 8-7)
T3. OG (3-3, 8-9)
T3. Team Spirit (3-3, 7-8)
T3. Xtreme Gaming (3-3, 8-9)
7. Shopify Rebellion (2-4, 6-9)
8. Aurora (0-6, 4-12)
DreamLeague Season 22 prize pool (money, ESL Pro Tour points)
1. $300,000, 4,200 points
2. $175,000, 3,500
3. $120,000, 2,800
4. $85,000, 2,240
5. $52,500, 1,680
6. $47,500, 1,400
7. $42,500, 840
8. $37,500, 560
9-10. $25,000, 350 — Virtus.pro, Tundra Esports
11-12. $20,000, 175 — Azure Ray, Team Secret
13-14. $15,000, 98 — HEROIC, Team Liquid
15-16. $10,000, 42 — G2.iG, 1win
–Field Level Media