They’ve done it: Chimera Esports, despite being one of the biggest underdogs at DreamLeague Season 25, have punched their ticket into the playoffs. The Eastern European team, which I praised several days ago for having such a massive breakout performance at this tournament, is now guaranteed to go home with at least $80,000 in prize money.

Chimera Esports Sneak into DreamLeague Season 25 Playoffs

Although they posted a negative map record of eight wins and nine losses in the second group stage, the way the rest of the matches played out allowed them to eke out a fourth place finish within the group stage in question. Mediocre performances from Team Falcons and BetBoom Team throughout the second stage also helped, as both of these squads had to settle for fifth and sixth place instead.

The Chimera Roars

Like I said, this is a fantastic result for Chimera — especially considering their lack of experience and lower level of talent compared to the big names in the DreamLeague field. Getting this far is proof that their Group Stage 1 run wasn’t just a fluke, and that their understanding of the Patch 7.38 metagame is real and tangible.

They still have a lot of work to do if they want to win this tournament — which I personally don’t expect given that the red hot teams PARIVISION and Tundra Esports are still in the mix. These two squads in particular are just way too damn good right now for Chimera to beat, so realistically, they’re probably going to have to settle for third place at best.

Which, don’t get me wrong, would still be amazing for them. That would increase their winnings to $105,000, and give them a huge confidence boost going into the rest of the season. Either way, if they can build on whatever result is in the cards for them at DreamLeague, we might just see a new perennial dark horse this season.

dyrachyo’s Revenge Arc Continues

Speaking of Tundra Esports, they’re on an absolute tear in this tournament, as they have been in the last two. It’s highly likely at this point that they’ll be winning their third consecutive major tournament, which is kind of crazy to think about considering that Anton “dyrachyo” Shkredov arrived not too long ago.

I swear, the man is just fueled by anger right now at the fact that he was fired by his former team Gaimin Gladiators, and his revenge arc is now in full swing and unlikely to stop any time soon. And apparently, this kind of energy bleeds into the rest of the roster, because Tundra are looking utterly unstoppable as a whole.

That is, unless Volodymyr “No[o]ne” Minenko and the rest of PARIVISION have anything to say about it. These two teams will start the playoffs in the upper bracket, and that set alone could already be a grand final preview. I’m expecting neither team to pull any punches, which I’m sure everyone watching at home would prefer anyway. Whatever happens, we’re bound to see some amazing Dota right off the bat in the playoffs thanks to these squads.