Recap of Elite League Season 2: Results and Overview

The competitive Dota 2 season in 2024 is drastically different from what we saw a few years ago, mainly due to Valve’s decision to move away from the traditional DPC format.

The DPC system, which had outlived its usefulness, was scrapped by Valve at the end of 2023, specifically on September 13, 2023. We can’t say it was a bad decision, as it finally brought back independent, international tournaments to Dota 2, most of which are held as LAN events. After all, it is logical, because exactly such tournaments are needed before the international dota 2, the most important championship of the year.

One of the tournaments that emerged from the ashes of the DPC system was Elite League Season 2. This tournament was organized by ESB, the company previously responsible for running DPC tournaments in 2023. With the introduction of a new competitive system in the dota international schedule, ESB had the opportunity to create something significant and recognizable, and in this article, we want to provide a detailed look at what Elite League Season 2 is and why this tournament stood out.

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What is the Elite League tournament?

Despite the rather “loud” name containing the word League, it shouldn’t be misunderstood. Elite League is not a league in the classical sense but a full-fledged, standalone event with its own rules and everything else.

We first heard about the Elite League at the beginning of 2024, specifically in March. Back then, the championship under the name Elite League Season 1 was one of the most prestigious and largest. In the first tournament under the Elite League banner, a total of $960,000 was up for grabs. Such prize pools during the DPC era were only seen in Major-tier tournaments.

The first season of Elite League was organized by ESB with support from FISSURE. The event organizers managed to attract the entire elite of the global Dota scene and dota 2 tournaments, which was necessary to live up to the name. The following clubs participated in Elite League Season 1:

Spirit
BB
Liquid
Gladiators
Falcons
Xtreme Gaming
Azure Ray
G2xIG

The teams listed above were only the direct invites. An additional 16 teams qualified for the tournament. With such significant prize money on the line, it’s no surprise that nearly all top teams were present.

Xtreme Gaming emerged as the champions of Elite League Season 1, and the tournament was evidently successful, leading ESB to announce the continuation of the Elite League series. Thus, Elite League Season 2 was “born,” and we’ll discuss it in more detail below.

Elite League Season 2: The Same Tournament in a Different Setting

Elite League Season 2, the direct successor to the debut Elite League Season 1, retained the key features of the first season. It was still a LAN tournament with a near-top-tier lineup of participants.

However, Elite League Season 2 had unique characteristics that set it apart from the first championship in the series. For instance, the organization was entirely managed by ESB, who relocated the tournament from Europe to Peru. This impacted the prize pool: instead of $960,000, $800,000 was at stake, which is still a huge sum for a tournament by a young organizer from Peru.

Elite League Season 2 also significantly changed the participant lineup. Due to a rather packed match calendar, fewer top-tier clubs participated in Elite League Season 2, though there were still some. Here are some of the top teams that took part in the competition:

Liquid
OG
Shopify Rebellion
BC

While it was far from the star-studded lineup of the first Elite League, that doesn’t mean the tournament was bad. Quite the opposite, in fact. Let us explain.

The Importance of Elite League Season 2

Overall, Elite League Season 2 is a rather important tournament, mainly due to the participant lineup.

The thing is, in Elite League Season 2, unlike Season 1, the majority of the teams were Tier 2, whereas the first season was filled with top 10 representatives of the world. This could be seen as a downside in terms of game quality, but it’s a huge benefit for the growth of the scene.

During the unfortunate DPC era, Tier 2 teams had minimal chances of breaking through to the top, as they were stuck in a pointless cycle of DPC tournaments with minimal prize pools and almost no prospects. Now, they can attend championships with prize pools comparable to former Major tournaments. Teams like Fusion and Cayes Esports, which participated in Elite League Season 2, had the opportunity to showcase their talents and potentially find sponsors in the future.

This is why tournaments like Elite League Season 2 are important and necessary, despite the rather predictable results. And about those results – more on that below.

Liquid – The Champions of Elite League Season 2

Among all the participants of Elite League Season 2, one team stood out significantly from the rest. Of course, we’re talking about Team Liquid, who became the champions of Elite League Season 2 and have reached their first trophy before the international 2024 starts in autumn.

Team Liquid flawlessly navigated the Swiss stage, finishing it with a 3-0 record. Advancing to the next round, they managed to secure a Top 4 finish, which allowed them to enter the upper bracket of the Elite League Season playoffs. There, Liquid defeated OG in the first round, then dropped to the lower bracket after losing to 1WIN, and later advanced to the grand finals after defeating BOOM, where they once again faced 1WIN.

In the decisive match of Elite League Season 2, Liquid outplayed their opponents with a 3-2 score, thereby becoming the champions of the LAN tournament and winning $240,000. This victory was significant for Liquid, as the last time the team won a tournament was back in 2023, and even then, it was the DPC Upper Division. Liquid’s streak of second-place finishes was finally broken at Elite League Season 2.

Conclusion

Elite League Season 2 became a kind of tournament with great significance for the competitive scene as a whole. It allowed teams that previously didn’t have the opportunity to make a name for themselves to shine. Additionally, this tournament was important for Liquid, who finally won a LAN championship after a series of setbacks in the finals of other major tournaments which could help them at dota 2 ti 2024 in autumn.