Ex-HEROIC among the teams eliminated from DreamLeague Season 29 as EWC hopes hang in the balance

Day 5 of DreamLeague Season 29 brought the first true breaking point of the tournament. For four teams, the playoff dream ended — and with it, any remaining chance of securing a direct invite to the 2026 Esports World Cup through ESL Pro Tour points.

REKONIX, GamerLegion, Nigma Galaxy, and the newly orgless Ex-HEROIC roster have all been eliminated from the tournament — and with that, their hopes of securing a direct invite to the 2026 Esports World Cup through EPT points disappear as well.

The only road left now is through the regional qualifiers beginning May 31st.

• Read DreamLeague Season 29: The last chance for an EWC 2026 direct invite

Three of the four eliminated teams finished with nearly identical records.

REKONIX, GamerLegion, and Ex-HEROIC all closed out the group stage with a 1–6 series scoreline, unable to keep pace once the tournament settled into its rhythm. Nigma Galaxy fared only slightly better at 2–5, but the outcome was ultimately the same.

Of all four teams, the former HEROIC lineup endured the harshest collapse statistically. The roster secured only two individual game victories across the entire event — both coming in a 2–0 sweep over GamerLegion.

But for Ex-HEROIC, the disappointing result carries far more weight than just numbers on the standings.

Not long before DreamLeague Season 29 began, HEROIC officially exited Dota 2, leaving the players to continue competing without organizational backing during one of the most important stretches of the season. The timing could hardly have been worse. DreamLeague represented the final opportunity to secure enough EPT points for a direct path to EWC 2026.

Instead, the team struggled from the opening days and never truly recovered. Losing their organization and the clearest path to the biggest event of the year almost simultaneously most likely stings.

• Read HEROIC exit Dota 2 as numbers don’t add up

DreamLeague Season 29 was always framed as the last great opportunity before the Esports World Cup field began to solidify, but the EPT race will continue without them. NAVI, BetBoom Team, PlayTime, and Virtus.Pro still are aiming to secure their slots.

• Read NAVI among five teams to lock upper bracket playoffs as EWC pressure mounts at DreamLeague Season 29

DreamLeague Season 29 Playoffs

• May 19-24th
• Double-elimination bracket
• All matches are Bo3
• Grand Final is Bo5

DreamLeague Sesaon 29 Prize Pool

The $1,000,000 prize pool will be split as below. Note that just like previously, $750,000 are awarded as Prize Money while $250,000 USD are awarded as Club Reward. The 28,300 EPT Points will be spread among the participants.

• 1st place $250,000/$40,000/ 6,000 base EPT points
• 2nd place $100,000/$30,000/5,000 base EPT points
• 3rd place $80,000/$25,000/4,000 base EPT points
• 4th place $60,000/$20,000/3,200 base EPT points
• 5-6th place $45,000/$15,000/2,200 base EPT points
• 7-8th place $27,000/$12,500/1000 base EPT points
• 9-12th place $20,000/$10,000/375 total EPT points
• 13-14th place $12,500/$10,000/140 total EPT points
• 15-16th place $10,000/$10,000/60 total EPT points

The action continues tomorrow with some tie-breakeres to determine the full playoff brackets.