eSports
Gaimin Gladiators take the win in DreamLeague Season 19 powered by Intel® and qualify for Riyadh Masters
Season 19 of DreamLeague powered by Intel®, the longest-running Dota 2 league hosted by the ESL FACEIT Group, has come to a thrilling close, with Gaimin Gladiators taking the win over Team Liquid in the Grand Final by 3-2. Gaimin Gladiators will take home the largest share of the $1,000,000 prize pool and qualify for the Riyadh Masters Group Stage at Gamers8 later this year.
This year, DreamLeague Season 19 saw exciting new changes and updates to its existing format and schedule, including changes to the number of teams competing and the different tournament stages as well as returning to its multiregional roots. Commencing on April 9 with Group Stage 1, 16 teams battled for the eight available spots in Group Stage 2, with the top four teams then progressing to the Playoffs.
Featuring elite squads from across the globe – including Lima Major winners Gaimin Gladiators, and reigning The International Champions Tundra Esports – Group Stage 1 began on April 9. The 16 teams competed in a single round-robin format with all matches being best-of-two. In this stage, five teams went unbeaten: Gaimin Gladiators, Shopify Rebellion, Evil Geniuses, Team Liquid, and beastcoast.
In Group Stage 2, all eight qualified teams were put in the same group, where they fought in a best-of-three single round-robin format. Here, the eight teams were whittled down to four, as Team Liquid, Gaimin Gladiators, Shopify Rebellion, and Tundra Esports all made it through. Team Liquid and Gaimin Gladiators dominated this stage, with both boasting 6-1 records at the end of Group Stage 2.
In the Playoffs, the remaining four teams battled in a double elimination bracket, playing in the best-of-three format, with Team Liquid and Gaimin Gladiators making it to the best-of-five Grand Finals.
The Grand Final saw Gaimin Gladiators bag the first-round win before Team Liquid rallied and took round two to tie the scores. However, in game three, Gaimin Gladiators picked up where they left off in the first round to make it 2-1. A stunning fourth game saw Team Liquid dominate, sweeping Gaimin Gladiators away to set up game five, where Gaimin Gladiators secured a 3-2 win.
Gaimin Gladiators topped Group A in Group Stage 1, going unbeaten in a tough group, which included Shopify Rebellion, Evil Geniuses, and TSM, boasting a 3-4-0 record. In Group Stage 2, they finished second, just behind Team Liquid. In the Upper Bracket Final of the Playoffs, they were then beaten 2-0 by Team Liquid, sending them to the Lower Bracket Final, where they dispatched Shopify Rebellion by the same score to set up the Grand Final with Team Liquid.
The DreamLeague Season 19 Grand Final saw nearly 18 million hours watched,* with a peak viewership of over 268,000*.
“Team Liquid are an insanely good team but the third game was such an epic comeback from us,” said Quinn “Quinn” Callahan from Gaimin Gladiators. “[At] the end of a tournament we know we’re going to win [and it] is almost like a victory lap, it’s such a nice feeling to know you’re going to win in a few seconds.”
Soon, fans can expect more top tier Dota 2 action with the ESL One Berlin Dota 2 Major, taking place in Berlin, Germany, on April 26 – May 7. After that, the ESL Pro Tour for Dota 2 will continue with DreamLeague Season 20, taking place online on June 11 – 25. For more information about the ESL Pro Tour for Dota 2, check out the official website, and follow ESL Dota 2 on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
*According to Escharts
eSports
Emmy-Winning Director R.J. Cutler’s Docuseries Esports World Cup: Level Up Premieres June 6 on Prime Video
Prime Video, one of the leading entertainment destinations, will premiere the five-part documentary Esports World Cup: Level Up on June 6, with new episodes released weekly. Directed by Emmy-winning filmmaker R.J. Cutler (Billie Eilish: The World’s a Little Blurry, Elton John: Never Too Late and Martha), the series goes behind-the-scenes of the inaugural Esports World Cup (EWC) in 2024 — a defining moment in global esports, where over $60 million in prize money ignited a high-stakes, multinational battle to crown the world’s top esports Club.
The series is produced by This Machine (a part of Sony Pictures Television), with R.J. Cutler directing, John Dorsey serving as showrunner, and Jane Cha Cutler, Trevor Smith, Elise Pearlstein and Mark Blatty executive producing. Level Up will premiere exclusively on Prime Video in more than 240 countries and territories worldwide.
Esports World Cup: Level Up offers a rare look inside a global competition that’s redefining what it means to be a champion for a new generation of athletes and fans. R.J. Cutler and his team of expert storytellers embedded themselves within the eight-week tournament – watched by over 500 million fans globally – to uncover the personal sacrifices, rivalries and stakes driving the action.
Shot in verité style, the series combines intimate home visits from around the world and on-the-ground coverage from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. It follows a wide cast of characters – from Club CEOs orchestrating million-dollar strategies to rising stars chasing life-changing wins – while capturing the pulse of elite esports competition.
“What drew me to the Esports World Cup was the compelling human stories unfolding within this high-stakes arena. Level Up isn’t just about the incredible competition and prize money; it’s about the dedication, the passion, and the sheer will of these athletes and teams pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. Under high pressure, we discover the true character of the competitors who vie for $60 million, but who also expose their humanity in the process,” said Cutler.
At the heart of Level Up is the “EWC Club Championship,” an unprecedented, multi-title tournament format where Clubs compete across more than 20 games, earning points toward a single leaderboard. Every match, every point, reshapes the race for global dominance. With the highest prize pool in esports history on the line, the EWC is not just a tournament – it’s a proving ground for the next generation of sports icons.
“A win might make the headlines — but the real story is the people behind it. Level Up dives into the human side of esports: the pressure, the ambition, the sacrifices. It’s about what it really takes to compete at the highest level — and why it matters. R.J. is the best at bringing those stories to life, and this one captures the heart of what we’re building,” said Ralf Reichert, CEO of the Esports World Cup Foundation.
The post Emmy-Winning Director R.J. Cutler’s Docuseries Esports World Cup: Level Up Premieres June 6 on Prime Video appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
Esports betting pioneer adds daily fantasy esports offering to its growing range of products, with its sights set on the US market
PandaScore, the award-winning provider of esports odds, data and betting products, has continued to push boundaries with the launch of Daily Fantasy eSports, a truly groundbreaking product for operators and players.
Daily Fantasy eSports has been developed for the US market but will have global appeal with players drawn in by the chance to create virtual teams of real-life players and earn points based on their actual game performances.
Contests range from daily matchups to season-long leagues, with plenty of prizes up for grabs.
PandaScore’s Daily Fantasy eSports is backed by an expert-led esports trading team to deliver fast, accurate settlement data across unique, player-focused markets driven by the provider’s established and proven betting models.
An Interactive Player Widget serves up rich player stats and profiles, with PandaScore’s powerful BetBuilder enabling same-game parlays.
But that’s not all. PandaScore has more than 17,000 players in its esports player age and info database, the largest in the market.
It also offers dedicated helper codes and documentation to ensure smooth and seamless operator integration. It really is as easy as 1-2-3.
1 – There is a kick-off call to align on goals, timelines and fantasy formats.
2 – The operator accesses PandaScore’s dedicated fantasy-focused API to accelerate the build
3 – The dedicated integration manager ensures effortless onboarding and a successful launch
By leveraging PandaScore’s odds and data, alongside its team of experts and specialists, online sportsbook and daily fantasy sports operators can launch faster, ensure accuracy and scale their Daily Fantasy eSports offering with confidence.
Oliver Niner, Head of B2B at PandaScore, said: “Daily Fantasy eSports is a pioneering product from PandaScore that will really hit the mark with operators across North America, as well as other global markets.
“It allows operators to engage esports fans and bettors with a compelling product and proposition, but without the degree of risk that comes with standard betting as the payouts are controlled.
“Daily Fantasy eSports is already live with Dabble and is performing incredibly well, so we look forward to going live with more operators in the coming months.
“This really is a game-changing product, and we can’t wait to see it become available at some of the biggest betting brands in North America and beyond.”
The launch of Daily Fantasy eSports complements PandaScore’s growing esports betting offering, which includes odds and data for a huge number of disciplines, plus betting products like its BetBuilder, MicroMarkets and StoryBuilder.
The post PandaScore launches game-changing Daily Fantasy eSports product appeared first on European Gaming Industry News.
Esports Charts, a Ukraine-born analytics company that aggregates real-time viewership insights about esports, has won the Esports Innovation Award at the EsportsNext Industry Awards, hosted by the Esports Trade Association (ESTA) in Dallas, US.
The Esports Innovation Award recognizes an organization or individual that has introduced groundbreaking technology, services, or strategies significantly advancing the esports industry.
Esports Charts was honored for its scalable analytics platform, which provides comprehensive tournament and viewership statistics across more than 25 livestreaming services — helping stakeholders from publishers and teams to fans make smarter, data-driven decisions.
“Winning the Innovation Award from ESTA is an important milestone for us as a leading esports analytics service in the world. Also, we’re especially proud to represent Ukraine-born innovation on an international stage.
“From day one, our mission has been to bring clarity and transparency to the world of esports data. And this recognition from the industry is both an honor and a motivation to keep raising the bar.
“Thank you to our incredible team and partners, who believed in us from the start. This award is a shared success — and we’re just getting started,” Artyom Odintsov, co-founder and CEO of Esports Charts.
The post Esports Charts Wins “Esports Innovation Award” at the EsportsNext Industry Awards appeared first on Gaming and Gambling Industry in the Americas.
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