Dota 2’s ESL One Raleigh event is just around the corner, with various teams from around the globe competing for a lion’s share of its $1m (~£775,000) prize pool.
Find out everything there is to know about the first ESL One event in the US in six years, including teams, format, scheudle and more.
ESL One Raleigh 2025 Format
ESL One Raleigh 2025 is scheduled to take place from April 7th to 13th.
The group stage will run from April 7th to 9th, 2025. There will be two single-round-robin groups, featuring six teams, with each series consisting of two games. The top two teams will then proceed to the playoffs’ upper and lower brackets.
The playoffs will then run from April 10th to 13th, 2025, featuring a double elimination bracket in a best-of-three format in front of a live audience. The grand final will take place on the last day and features a best-of-five format.
Participating Teams
In total, ESL One Raleigh 2025 features 12 teams. Some have progressed by achieving a top placement in their regional qualifier. Others were invited based on their placement in the EPT leatherboards, which was announced on X on January 13th.
NAVI Junior originally qualified for the tournament after defeating AVULUS in Western Europe Qualifiers. However, a complaint was raised that NAVI’s Stanislav ‘Riddys’ Mitroshkyn had used an exploit during the match. As a result, NAVI Junior was disqualified, and AVULUS proceeded in their place.
Here are all participating teams:
| Group A | Group B |
| Nigma Galaxy (MESWA Qualifier) | AVULUS (Western European Qualifier) |
| PARAVISION (Invited) | Betboom Team (Invited) |
| Shopify Rebellion (NA Qualifier) | HEROIC (South American Qualifer) |
| Talon Esports (SEA Qualifer) | Team Falcons (Invited) |
| Team Liquid (Invited) | Team Tidebound (China Qualifier) |
| Team Spirit (Eastern European Qualifier) | Tundra Esports (Western European Qualifier) |
ESL Schedule
Monday, April 7th: Group A, Day 1
- PARI vs TSpirit
- NGX vs SR
- Liquid vs Talon
- TSpirit vs Liquid
- SR vs PARI
- NGX vs Talon
Monday, April 7th: Group B, Day 1
- Tundra vs Falcons
- BB vs Tidebd
- HEROIC vs AVULUS
- Falcons vs BB
- HEROIC vs Tidebd
- AVULUS vs Tundra
Tuesday, April 8th: Group A, Day 2
- NGX vs TSpirit
- PARI vs Liquid
- SR vs Talon
- NGX vs Liquid
- TSpirit vs SR
- Talon vs PARI
Tuesday, April 8th: Group B, Day 2
- Tundra vs BB
- HEROIC vs Falcons
- AVULUS vs Tidebd
- Tidebd vs Tundra
- Falcons vs AVULUS
- HEROIC vs BB
Wednesday, April 9th: Group A, Day 3
- Liquid vs SR
- NGX vs PARI
- Talon vs TSpirit
Wednesday, April 9th: Group B, Day 3
- HEROIC vs Tundra
- Tidebd vs Falcons
- BB vs AVULUS
Once the group stage has concluded, the next three days will feature the playoffs.
Thursday, April 10th:
- Upper Bracket Semi-finals
- TBD vs TBD
- TBD vs TBD
Friday, April 11th:
- Lower Bracket Round 1
- TBD vs TBD
- TBD vs TBD
- Lower Bracket Quarterfinals
- TBD vs TBD
Saturday, April 12th:
- Lower Bracket Quarterfinals
- TBD vs TBD
- Upper Bracket Final
- TBD vs TBD
- Lower Backet Semi-final
- TBD vs TBD
Sunday, April 13th:
- Lower Bracket Final
- TBD vs TBD
- Grand Final
- TBD vs TBD
Where to Watch ESL One Raleigh 2025
The whole tournament, including the group stage and playoffs, will be broadcast on the official ESL Twitch channel and YouTube Channel under the live playlist. The event will also be broadcast on HUYA for eastern audiences.
There is currently no news of rewards for watching the stream, such as Twitch Drops.
