All rdy: Your weekly recap of January 5-11th

Nothing is ever stagnant or dull when it comes to the Dota 2 scene. Amidst the constant swirl of drama, tournaments, patches, and roster swaps, there’s always something unfolding behind the stage. From surprise upsets and standout performances to off-stage hiccups, each week brings a fresh mix of chaos and exctiment to our favorite (and often times most hated) game.

Tournaments

DreamLeague Season 28

DreamLeague Season 28 is scheduled to take place from February 16 - March 1st with 16 teams competing for the $1,000,000 prize and 23,090 ESL Pro Tour (EPT) points. Six teams —Tundra Esports, Xtreme Gaming, PARIVISION, OG, Team Spirit, and Team Yandex— received direct slots based on the results of the ESL Pro Tour 2025/2026 season.

Team Falcons were forced to battle through the Western European qualifiers to secure their slot, and will be joined by MOUZ, Natus Vincere, Team Liquid, Execration, BetBoom Team, GamerLegion, and Peru Rejects.

• Read MOUZ take down Falcons to become first team qualified for DreamLeague Season 28

One slot in the tournament will be awarded to the champion of Division 2 Season 3. The Chinese slot will be contested in the ESL Challenger China.

Players and Teams

Aurora Gaming

Aurora Gaming made last-minute adjustments ahead of the DreamLeague Season 28 Eastern Europe Closed Qualifiers, parting ways with Chan “Oli” Chon Kien and Alexander “TORONTOTOKYO” Khertek. The duo was replaced by Chung “Ws” Wei Shen, recently departed from Vici Gaming, and Oleh “kaori” Medvedok.

• Read Aurora Gaming complete their roster with Ws and Kaori

Unfortunately, the changes didn’t deliver immediate results. Aurora fell 3:1 to BetBoom in the grand finals of the Eastern European qualifiers. They’ll have another chance to bounce back in the upcoming ESL One Birmingham 2026 qualifiers, though invited teams for the closed stage have yet to be announced.

Team Spirit

Team Spirit announced on Telegram that Midlaner Denis "Larl " Sigitov will be inactive for six weeks and will miss the team's first three tournaments in 2026 —the upcoming FISSURE Universe tournament, BLAST Slam VI , and DreamLeague Season 28. He will be replace by Marat "Mirele" Gazetdinov of Yellow Submarines.

Rumors and Drama

Henrik “AdmiralBulldog” Ahnberg’s TI3 championship ring, which was listed for auction on eBay, failed to sell. The listing opened with a starting bid of $70,000 and a “Buy It Now” price of $99,000, but ultimately closed without any bids.

• Read AdmiralBulldog’s unsold TI3 ring and the value of esports memory

If you can’t keep up with all the news happening, don’t stress — All rdy has you covered. Every Monday, we round up the biggest headlines, hidden gems, and moments you might’ve missed, so you can start your week informed and ontop of it all.