Dota 2
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Get rdy: Competitive guide for December 12-18th
The weekend is almost here and that usually means events and competitive matches are in full swing. With this season's packed schedule it is easy to miss something, so we've compiled a weekly planning guide to keep track of what is going on.
StarLadder Major in Budapest brought a new set of 32 teams to battle through three Swiss stages and a single-elimination playoff bracket in the hopes of claiming one of Counter-Strike's most illustrious trophies. $1,250,000 is on the line. Only eight teams remain.
Starting today, at 17:00 CET the action moves into the quarter finals and by the end of the weekend a champion will be crowned.
The most exciting game of the Major is expected to take place to kick off the playoffs. In our opinion that will take place between Team Spirit and Team Falcons. This is a game between some of the finest fraggers in the world, highlight machines going toe-to-toe trying to one-up each other and all with massive stakes to chase. m0NESY vs sh1ro is tasty enough, but kyousuke vs donk is a narrative monster with the watchability to match.
This might not be the best game of the Major, but it might be the one that we’re most excited to watch.
Also, not to boast too much or anything, but we areBold three-for-three on successful Pick’Ems predictions. We highly recommend you check out the latest.
StarLadder Budapest Major 2025
Playoffs
- Single-Elimination bracket
- December 11–14th
- Seeded using final Stage 3 standings
- The Quarterfinals & Semifinals are Bo3
- The Grand Final is Bo5
DreamLeague Season 27
The first ESL Pro Tour of the 2025-2026 season is underway with 24 teams competing for the lion's share of the $1,000,000 prize. From now until the middle of next week teams will be locked into the swiss system group stage with 12 best-of-three series taking place daily. That's a whole lot of Dota 2 to fill up on.
While there may be some interesting matches to catch, the stakes will only start to rise after a few rounds, so don't expect to cast bets on early results. Fans are sure to want to catch Clement 'Puppey' Ivanov working along with PARIVISION as coach as they defend their DreamLeague Season 26 title.
In addition to the usual suspects to keep an eye on, don't forget to tune in to see how the new Team Nemsis and Amaru handle things. We've been treated to some fun upsets and unexpected surprises this Dota 2 season so far and more can easily be on the way.
Group Stage
- December 10-16th
- 24 teams swiss-system
- All matches are Bo3
- Top eight teams advance to playoffs
- Remaining teams are eliminated
Playoffs
- December 17th-21st
- Double-elimination bracket
- All matches are Bo3
- Grand Final is Bo5
Regional Affairs
Local and regional fans have some treats on the menu this week.
CIS
Tennisi Stampede Champions: Season 1 is an online tournament for teams. There were two open qualifiers and four invited teams —Yellow Submarine, Team Spirit Academy, VP.Prodigy and Most Wanted. Group Stage will take place from December 2-7th where four teams were eliminated. The playoffs will start on December 12th. with Yellow Submarine, Aim Pissible, VP.Prodigy, and Most Wanted gunning for the trophy.
EPL Season 33 began on December 1dst and will continue throughout the month, ending on the 27th. $20,000 is up for grabs and most of the usual suspects from the Tier 2-3 CIS region will be present.
China
Alumni Association 2025 is a tournament organized by Perfect World. The participants are current students or graduates of Chinese universities. The event will take place online before switching to LAN setup at Shanghai Perfect World Esports Center for the grand finals. Eight teams will compete in the best-of-one double elimination brackets, aiming to take home the largest slice of the ¥23,000 CNY(~ $3,246 USD) prize pool. Things kicked off on Saturday, Novemeber 29th and will wrap up on December 27th.
Southeast Asia
Also still going on is the Lunar Snake Trophy event. This online competition had eight invited regional teams going head-to-head for $15,000. The groupstage is set to take place through the 22nd, sending two teams home. The remaining six teams will then proceed to the playoffs expected to take place from the 23rd-29th of December.
South America
QG Liga Imortal is an offline event designed to 'ecourage the competitive Dota 2 scene in Northern Brazil'. A total of 16 teams have registered to compete for a chance to win the bulk of the R$5,500 BRL (~ $1,031 USD) prize money. The action started on Saturday, November 29th and will continue through December 14th.
Liga Dos Ursitos: Ursinhos Caridosos is an online event featuring eleven registered teams from South America competing for R$3,000 BRL (~ $565 USD) from December 1st through until the 11th.