PSG.LGD picked up a 2-0 victory over 9Pandas on Wednesday to jump back into a tie for first in Group Stage 2 of DreamLeague Season 20.
A pair of wins on green — in 51 and 29 minutes — allowed PSG.LGD to reclaim their spot atop the standings. PSG.LGD dropped into second place when they lost to BetBoom Team on Tuesday in a battle of unbeatens, but BetBoom fell 2-1 to Talon Esports on Wednesday to give up sole possession of first.
Both squads are now co-leaders in Group Stage 2 action at 5-1.
One day remains in a seven-day, single round robin to determine which four teams will advance to the playoff round.
Sixteen Dota 2 teams from around the world were invited to DreamLeague Season 20 to compete for a $1 million prize pool. The winner will receive $300,000 and the runner-up will earn $175,000, with the top two finishers also qualifying for the Riyadh Masters later this year.
Group Stage 1 went from June 11-14, with a single round-robin format and all matches best-of-two. The top four teams from each group advanced to Group Stage 2 and formed one single group of eight, featuring best-of-three matches. The top four finishers from Group Stage 2 will qualify for a double-elimination playoff stage June 24-25.
Cheng “NothingToSay” Jin Xiang of Malaysia led PSG.LGD to victory on Wednesday, posting an average kills-deaths-assists ratio of 11.0-0.5-14.5. Gleb “kiyotaka” Zyryanov paced the all-Russian 9Pandas with a 7.5-6.0-2.5 mark.
After falling in 37 minutes on red, Talon Esports used a 36-minute on red and a 36-minute victory on green to upset BetBoom Team. Thailand’s Nuengnara “23savage” Teeramahanon supplied an average of 8.0 kills, 2.7 deaths and 6.3 assists for the winning side, while Russian Egor “Nightfall” Grigorenko finished with an average K-D-A of 3.3-2.7-5.3 for BetBoom.
Gaimin Gladiators sandwiched a pair of wins around a 65-minute loss on green to take down Team Aster, 2-1. The United States’ Quinn “Quinn” Callahan averaged 7.3 kills, 4.0 deaths and 13.3 assists for the Gladiators.
In Wednesday’s final match, Team Spirit swept Evil Geniuses 2-0 thanks in large part to Russia’s Denis “Larl” Sigitov, who notched an average 10.0-2.5-14.0 K-D-A ratio.
Group Stage 2 concludes on Thursday with four matches:
–BetBoom Team vs. 9Pandas
–Team Spirit vs. Talon Esports
–PSG.LGD vs. Team Aster
–Gaimin Gladiators vs. Evil Geniuses
Group Stage 2 standings:
T1. BetBoom Team, 5-1
T1. PSG.LGD, 5-1
3. Gaimin Gladiators, 4-2
T4. Evil Geniuses, 3-3
T4. Talon Esports, 3-3
T4. Team Spirit, 3-3
7. 9Pandas, 1-5
8. Team Aster, 0-6
DreamLeague Season 20 prize pool:
1. $300,000, Riyadh Masters berth
2. $175,000, Riyadh Masters berth
3. $120,000
4. $85,000
5. $52,500
6. $47,500
7. $42,500
8. $37,500
9-10. Tundra Esports, beastcoast — $25,000
11-12. Team Secret, Shopify Rebellion — $20,000
13-14. TSM, OG — $15,000
15-16. Team Liquid, Entity — $10,000
–Field Level Media
