In an Esports era where the production value of a LAN tournament is a must-have, the DreamLeague S19 stood out as a major contender.
Current standings in DreamLeague S19 | Source: ESL
DreamLeague S19 managed to garner a peak concurrent viewership of 40,000 viewers on a Sunday night group stage match, so that’s a telltale sign that they are doing everything right.
With the first Group Stage completed, eight teams were eliminated from two groups. The fallen teams include several notable powerhouses, such as Talon Esports, Team Spirit, Team Aster, and ex-HellRaisers. Followed by Entity, Execration, nouns, and Nigma Galaxy.
We are now deep in two second Group Stage, and it’s high time to recap what went on in the initial round and how are Playoffs shaping up.
DreamLeague S19 Group Stage #1 Recap
Only the Western European and American teams advanced to the second group stage. The remaining eight include the WEU teams, Gaimin Gladiators, Team Liquid, Tundra Esports, and OG. Whereas North American teams, Shopify Rebellion and TeamSoloMid, alongside their South American counterparts, beastcoast and Evil Geniuses are also present.
Unlike the first group stage, where rounds are round-robin best-of-two, the second group stage features a best-of-three single round-robin instead. This is a pleasant twist to the group stage, as the top eight teams have a supposedly smaller skill gap, making it more impactful to have best-of-three matches throughout the group stage.
DreamLeague Season 19 Group Stage 1 Final Standings
Unexpected rise of Americas teams
The American teams are certainly not in anyone’s books to be at the top of their A game at the DreamLeague S19, considering their last pitfall at Lima Major 2023. Except for Shopify Rebellion and EG, the other American candidates were underwhelming.
Yet, these very American candidates surpassed the likes of stronger opponents on paper, such as Talon Esports, Team Spirit, or even Entity. That said, it’s becoming more evident that the WEU rivals are on a higher playing field, notably the Big Trio in WEU.
It just goes to show that Gaimin, Liquid, and Tundra still have an edge against most regional representatives. And likely, we might just see one American team come out on top of Group Stage 2 at the end. OG is the only WEU team that seemingly struggles to sweep its American rivals.
Western Europe rules the DreamLeague S19
While we would like to see more diversity in the top eight contestants, such as Team Spirit, Aster, or Talon. Unfortunately, the WEU trio will likely have a WEU Division 1 rematch in their likely Playoffs bracket.
Of course, they deserved every bit of their promising performance to claim the top 3 (again). However, if there’s one oddball to potentially challenge them, it’s Shopify Rebellion. The NA team is still consistently at the top, so they might be the region’s only hope for a top-three finish.
We have seen Shopify snatch a clean sweep off Gaimin Gladiators, the champion of Lima Major 2023, so that’s a good sign. Just need another victory in the Playoffs to seal the deal and win bragging rights against Gaimin.
However…
Alternatively, the South American prodigy squad doesn’t look too shabby themselves as the new face of EG. Sure, they occasionally get caught in blatantly oblivious mistakes, but there’s no denying that their delivery is at its peak. If the odds favor EG, they are a strong candidate to potentially become the top three at DreamLeague S19.
Regardless, Group Stage 2 has only begun, and we will have to catch the action live to see how well the American underdogs fair up against the WEU favorites.
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