How to watch DreamLeague Season 28 qualifiers

Though the first month of 2026 might not have any tournament main stage action for Dota 2 fans to enjoy, there’s still plenty to look forward to — with the regional qualifiers for DreamLeague Season 28 coming up in just three days’ time.

There’s a lot at stake here, especially for tier 2 teams looking to make that next big step in their development and progression.

When are the DreamLeague Season 28 qualifiers taking place?

The DreamLeague Season 28 regional qualifiers will take place starting on January 5th, 2026, and will end of the 11th.

Each region will have two open qualifier tournaments, which will happen on the 5th to the 6th, and the 7th to the 8th of January. No actual qualifications will be awarded through these, as the open qualifiers are just there to give opportunities to teams that weren’t invited directly into the closed qualifiers.

The closed qualifiers, meanwhile, will take place from the 9th to the 11th for each region.

Which regions will be at play?

The six major regions in the competitive Dota 2 scene will participate in the DreamLeague Season 28 qualifiers. All of North America, South America, Western and Eastern Europe, China, and Southeast Asia will fight for the right to play in the online tournament.

Western Europe will enjoy four qualifier slots, while the other five regions will only get one each. Nothing too surprising there. There is however one non-regional qualifier slot, which will be given to the winner of DreamLeague Division 2 Season 3. For those not aware, ESL made wholesale changes to the 2026 ESL Pro Tour last year, adding a tier 2 and/or 3 division to DreamLeague in order to spread a little more wealth amongst lesser-known professional squads.

Tying in with this is the qualification to DreamLeague proper, which as I said is the prize for the winner of each Division 2 season on top of a small amount of cash.

Which teams will be fighting it out in the qualifiers?

Some notable teams in each region are as follows:

North America

• GamerLegion

South America

• Amaru Gaming
• HEROIC

Western Europe

• Team Falcons
• Team Liquid
• Natus Vincere
• Virtus.pro
• MOUZ
• Nigma Galaxy

Eastern Europe

• BetBoom Team
• Aurora Gaming
• 1w Team
• AVULUS

China (operating as ESL Challenger China)

• Xtreme Gaming
• Yakult Brothers
• Yakult Brothers.Tearlaments
• Vici Gaming

Southeast Asia

• Execration
• Yangon Galacticos
• Ivory

Interestingly, the Chinese qualifiers are actually a discrete tournament — named ESL Challenger China. This makes it the only qualifier leg related to DreamLeague Season 28 that awards any sort of prize money, with a total of $142,000 up for grabs.

In addition, not only does winning ESL Challenger China guarantee a slot in DreamLeague, but also a direct invite to ESL One Birmingham later this year. A nice two-for-one for China here.

How do I watch the DreamLeague Season 28 qualifiers?

Each match in the DreamLeague Season 28 regional qualifiers will be broadcast on ESL’s official Twitch and YouTube streams. The timetable for all regions involved is as follows: