Team Spirit cruises in and Yandex surprises for top-three spot at DreamLeague Season 27

All of the playoff matches at DreamLeague Season 27 so far have unfolded in the Upper Bracket, meaning the stakes have not been sky-high... yet. By the end of just the second day of playoffs, two teams have already locked in a top-three finish, securing a podium finish in the final stretch of the 2025 year.

Team Yandex had the unenviable task of playing twice in one day. Their opener against Virtus.pro went the distance, stretching into a full three-game series for them to claim the victory. While exhausting, there was at least one small mercy: the games themselves were relatively quick, sparing Yandex a marathon grind before their second series. That second battle also went the distance but was well worth it for them. Facing Tundra Esports, a team they have historically struggled against, Yandex found themselves on the back foot early. Tundra entered with cleaner drafts, stronger lanes, and superior map control, steadily building an advantage through pickoffs and farm efficiency. Yandex went in to the second game bold with an Axe pick and left Tiny open. They weathered the Tundra storm and with a few sick plays, especially around Roshan, Yandex pushed the third game into action. Although Tinker seemed to be the name of the last game, Yandex just pushed their heroes and themselves to the limit and outplayed Tundra in a stunning 67 minute, heart racing game.

Between Yandex's two series, viewers saw PARIVISION attempt to impose a fast, relentless tempo against Team Spirit. On paper, the drafts suggested aggression and momentum. In practice, it played straight into Spirit’s hands. Team Spirit mercilessly punished PARIVISION for even thinking they could win against them at game. Once PARIVISION fell behind, there was little room to maneuver back into the game. The second map offered flickers of hope, brief moments where a swing felt possible, but Spirit never relinquished control, closing out the series and stamping their ticket to the Upper Bracket Finals.

Tundra, PARIVISION and Virtus.pro were only knocked down to the lower brackets. Not out of the event. But that can all change tomorrow as the action now shifts to elimination mode. Team Falcons will kick things off against Xtreme Gaming at 12:00 CET, followed by OG going head-to-head with Virtus.pro at 15:30 CET, before the day closes with PARIVISION facing Tundra at 19:00 CET.

DreamLeague Season 27 Format

Playoffs

• December 17th-21st
• Double-elimination bracket
• All matches are Bo3
• Grand Final is Bo5

DreamLeague Sesaon 27 Prize Pool

The $1,000,000 prize pool will be split as below. Note that just like in BLAST Slam V, $750,000 are awarded as Prize Money while $250,000 USD are awarded as Club Reward. The 19,500 EPT Points will be spread among the participants and in addition, teams will earn $3,500 prize money and 100 EPT points for each series win in the Group Stage. However, eliminated teams in Group Stage will only earn the prize money.

• 1st place $200,000/$30,000/ 3,000 base EPT points
• 2nd place $125,000/$25,000/2,500 base EPT points
• 3rd place $75,000/$20,000/2,000 base EPT points
• 4th place $50,000/$15,000/1,600 base EPT points
• 5-6th place $14,000/$10,000/1,100 base EPT points
• 7-8th place $10,000/$10,000/500 base EPT points