Photos from ESL Dota 2, Team Secret, and Execration
MANILA – Seven Filipino esports athletes are set to compete in a $1,000,000 Dota 2 tournament on June 11-25, 2023 after their respective teams secured direct invitations to DreamLeague Season 20.
North America's Shopify Rebellion, the team of Cavite prodigy Abed Yusop, Europe's Team Secret, the squad of another Filipino star Armel Tabios, and five-man Pinoy squad Execration earned regional slots to qualify for the tilt.
ESL, the esports company behind the tilt, announced the list of teams that were invited.
Qualifying teams are invited through an “EPT Ranking System,” where ESL said, "Regions with higher Elo scores can earn additional slots."
The said ranking system is also posted on ESL’s website.
Visa issues have prevented Filipino players from participating in past tournaments, such as Abed’s case in DreamLeague Season 19, where an Iranian player stood in for him to play for Shopify Rebellion.
He eventually competed in Berlin Major in Germany after the said tournament.
The Philippines’ Execration will try to overcome their disappointing result at DreamLeague Season 19, where they suffered a group stage exit after losing their tiebreaker game against US-based squad TSM.
Armel, meanwhile, joined Team Secret in March this year. He also helped the squad bounce back to Division I in DPC WEU 2023 Tour 3.
DreamLeague Season 20 is ESL Pro Tour’s second competition this year.
Sixteen teams from different parts of the world will try to best each other in two group stages and playoffs to win the biggest share of the $1,000,000 prize pool.
Another "TBA" squad is yet to be disclosed that will also participate in the games.
The top 2 teams in DreamLeague Season 20 will also earn qualifications for Riyadh Masters 2023, which has a $15,000,000 prize pool.
EXECRATION ROSTER:
- Jinn Marrey "Palos" Lamatao
- Mark Anthony "Bob" Urbina
- Justine Ryan "Tino" Grimaldo
- Mark Jubert "Shanks" Redira
- Carlo "BDz" Manalo
SHOPIFY REBELLION ROSTER
- Artour "Arteezy" Babaev
- Abed "Abed" Yusop
- Jonáš "SabeRLight-" Volek
- Andreas "Cr1t-" Nielsen
- Tal "Fly" Aizik
TEAM SECRET ROSTER
- Remco "Crystallis" Arets
- Armel Paul "Armel" Tabios
- Miroslav "BOOM" Bičan
- Daniyal "yamich" Lazebnyy
- Clement "Puppey" Ivanov