DreamLeague S29 Recap: Upper Bracket Quarterfinals

May 20, 2026

Recommended watch: Liquid vs Parivision game 2, Navi vs Aurora game 2

Source: match data from opendota.com

Upper Bracket Quarterfinals

Falcons vs Tundra

Falcons first picked Sney’s Lich, and Tundra went for Pure’s PA as the last pick (they were successful with her in the tiebreakers). Despite the even start to the game, Falcons’ cores got the better farm across the map hence accelerated faster. Falcons also had the better moves involving MK + WR. Falcons synchronized their disables very well, which made pickoffs that much easier. Falcons built up a significant gold lead. PA felt the pressure and had to go for a Rapier, but gave it away before she could do anything significant with it. Falcons were clinical and are ahead because of it. FLC 1-0 Tundra.

Falcons keep it rolling. Tundra went with some unconventional heroes in their latter picks. The Ancient Apparition was their response to Timber. The Tinker was what they wanted to face up against the mid Slardar. Tundra were able to bring down the Timber with the help of Ice Blast early on, but had troubles with Malrine’s aggression. The Slardar was constantly looking for kills on the map. Being an elite vessel for Naix made the ganks easier. Once the 3 cores on Falcons’ side had BKBs, Tundra’s ability to win fights diminished greatly. Falcons kept going. They had a perfect blend of damage sources. Ridiculous magical burst from their supports, serious pure damage from Timber, and high physical damage from Naix + Slardar. Tundra could not compete. Falcons continue to be the best team in this tournament. FLC 1-0 Tundra.

Spirit vs BetBoom

Spirit went with the unconventional Drow pick against multiple melee cores. Yatoro, to nobody’s surprise, was able to farm and get to his timings. BetBoom needed to hit Axe’s Call + get Drow inside Wukong’s to bring her down. That was easier said than done. Spirit weren’t passive and were the ones taking the initiative. Larl’s Storm was zip-zapping around and Collapse’s Pango was Rolling in their faces. Put 2 defensive supports on top of that, and the Drow was comfortably hitting her opponents. BetBoom needed the stars to align in order to bring down the monstrous Drow and it didn’t happen. Spirit owned the fights and got the dub. Spirit 1-0 BB.

Spirit were once again getting the better exchanges on the map. They were slowly but steadily accruing a lead. BetBoom’s coffin came early in this one. An extended fight in the 17th minute sealed BetBoom’s fate. Larl’s QoP with an Arcane Rune + spammed spells from Techies and Pango destroyed BB. The 2-minute exchange left 9 dead on BB with 2 diebacks. There was no recovering from that. Spirit took full advantage of an opportunity and swept the series. Spirit 2-0 BB.

Parivision vs Liquid

This might have been Nisha’s worst game of the tournament. Pari emphasized shutting him down by sending supports in the mid lane. 9Class’ Nyx was a constant thorn on Storm’s side. The Nerubian Assassin had great tools to scout and set up the kill on this otherwise slippery hero. Pari’s team had great ways to take advantage of what Nyx provided them. 1 stun leading to another meant death for the Storm. The cold embrace was not saving him. With Liquid’s star midlaner getting beaten up, they crumbled and struggled to compete in the fights. Satanic was easily cleaning up what was served to him. The Leshrac would blink into the opponents and melt them down. This got out of hand quickly for Liquid. Pari with the dominant opener. Pari 1-0 Liquid.

Pari were in cruise control and looked ready to end things. Satanic’s Necro was too far ahead. Pari built up a commanding 27k gold lead at one point. Liquid were having a rough time but managed to create an opening after successfully defending their mid set of racks twice. Pari were too bloodthirsty on their first attempt and didn’t deal with objectives first. Kez was able to deal with the backliners as Necro was busy diving on the T4 towers. This gave Liquid momentum. The second time around, Necro was Nullified + Silenced up front and was the first to fall. Pari had to bail, but had more casualties on their way out. It was all Liquid from that point. Kez became the strongest hero on the map. Necro was easier to deal with. Pari’s confidence got deflated. Liquid’s vets took full advantage of the situation and completed the huge comeback. Liquid tie it up. Liquid 1-1 Pari.

Satanic might have taken the last game a little bit too personally because he was merciless in this one. Leave his TB alone for a while and he’d be 3 items ahead in no time. Satanic hit 1k GPM in this game and Liquid had no answer for him. Parivision made sure to enable their carry and they did just that. Kez or SF couldn’t touch him. The KotL meant everyone’s cooldowns were a lot shorter. Pari had an engine that never stopped. Liquid could not compete with Satanic. Pari did not throw this one away and will advance to the next round. Pari 2-1 Liquid.

Navi vs Aurora

The early Puck pick did not work out for Aurora. Navi picked heroes with good vision and Silences to make sure Puck did not have a good time. There were instances when GTJ’s TA wasn’t even needed for the engagements. TA got far ahead of everyone’s networth. Aurora really struggled to keep up. Once the Refresher Orb on Silencer came out, the game was done. 2 Globals neutered the spellcasters on Aurora’s side. Ursa had no chance of winning a right-click battle with the deficit they were in. Navi executed their lineup properly and got the deserved dub. Navi 1-0 Aurora.

Some elite throwing from both sides here. Aurora got ahead early by crushing the laning stage. It looked like the Void would never reach his late-game potential, but Aurora tripped up. The problem with mobile heroes is that you can get cocky and find yourself deep into enemy territory. Puck dove past Tier 3s and baited his team into a fight in the enemy’s base. 322 would ensue. Dawn and Puck would fall. Navi would secure an Aegis for themselves and get considerable momentum. But then, it was time for 644. Gotthejuice with one of the worst Chronos you will ever see. He caught his 2 cores inside, couldn’t kill the singular hero he caught inside, and his team got wiped as a result (video below). Navi would not be able to recover from this devastating blow. There will be no 966. Navi were given a lifeline to secure a win and get a ticket to EWC. They instead throw it away. We are heading to game 3. Aurora 1-1 Navi.

source: @ESLDota2 on Twitter

No more messing around from Aurora. They had the tools to jump the enemy MK, and so they kept going at him. Storm could zip and be followed up by Dawn. Nightfall, with his best game of the series, took over. The Tiny was unplayable and destroyed anyone he could combo. The Monkey had no chance against the Stone Giant. As Aurora controlled the map, the killings got easier. Navi had no answers for their problems and will have to earn their qualification through the lower bracket. Aurora 2-1 Navi.