DreamLeague Season 25: Qualifiers Begin as Banned CIS Players Return

The professional Dota 2 scene is gearing up for the 25th season of DreamLeague, accompanied by developments that could significantly impact team line-ups.

Open Qualifiers Begin

Registration for the open qualifiers of DreamLeague Season 25 is now open. Matches in the Western and Eastern European regions, hosted on the FACEIT platform, will commence on 3 January.

Each region will hold two open qualifiers, with one slot per qualifier leading to the closed stage. The winners will join six invited teams in the closed qualifiers. Organisers have allocated three spots for Western Europe and two for Eastern Europe.

Four teams have already secured direct invites to the tournament based on their ESL Pro Tour points:

• World Team Falcons
• SE Team Liquid
• RU PARIVISION
• RU BetBoom Team

DreamLeague Season 25 will take place online from 16 February to 2 March, boasting a prize pool of $1 million. Sixteen teams will compete for the championship.

Return of Previously Banned Players

Coinciding with the qualifiers, 19 December marks the end of a two-year ban for several CIS players punished for account-sharing violations. Among the notable names are Kamil "Koma'" Biktimirov and Bauyrzhan "lilskrip" Bisembaev.

The sanctions, imposed in December 2021, were the result of a joint decision by Valve, PGL, and ESL. However, ESL initially set the ban duration at two years, contrasting with the indefinite bans upheld by Valve and PGL.

Natus Vincere manager Zhanna "Radiactivebaby" commented on the milestone via her Telegram channel:

"An interesting fact – two years ago, these players were banned for account-sharing by Valve and major tournament organisers. Today, their ban period ends. Time flies."

Banned players:

• Aslan "paradise" Vadilov
• Emil "keintseru" Daminov
• Viktor "SuperNova" Galichkin
• Danil "illusion" Grzhevka
• Bauyrzhan "lilskrip" Bisembaev
• Kamil "Koma'" Biktimirov
• Vladislav "chambi" Khoroltsev
• Yaroslav "Limitless" Parshin
• Sergey "[T]SA" Timchenko
• Kirill "deihraa" Kharitonov

It remains unclear whether these players will be allowed to participate in major tournaments, as PGL continues to uphold its indefinite bans.