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ESL One Raleigh: Format, Schedule, Fixtures and More

ESL One Raleigh: Format, Schedule, Fixtures and More

Dota 2

Eric Oliveira

5 Apr, 2025, 00:57

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Last updated: 5 Apr, 2025, 01:06

We’re on the verge of ESL One Raleigh, and teams are gearing up for a new challenge. Twelve teams will battle it out for the largest share of a $1 million prize pool. This tournament is the penultimate stop on the ESL Pro Tour before the Esports World Cup.

Let’s take a closer look and summarize everything you need to know about ESL One Raleigh before it kicks off. This LAN event marks ESL’s return to the USA after a decade. The Group Stage starts on April 7th and the action runs nonstop until April 13th.

ESL One Raleigh: Format

As usual, let’s start with the tournament basics. ESL One Raleigh follows the traditional Dota 2 tournament structure, featuring a Group Stage with two round-robin groups of six teams each. All matches in the Group Stage are best-of-2. Teams earn 2 points for a win, 1 point for a draw, and none for a loss.

The top 2 teams from each group will advance to the upper bracket of the playoffs, while the 3rd and 4th place teams will head to the lower bracket. The eight playoff teams will then compete in a classic double-elimination bracket, with best-of-3 matches throughout and a best-of-5 Grand Final.

ESL One Raleigh brings back the good old round-robin.
It’s been a while since we’ve seen a round-robin format in the Group Stage. (Credit: Liquipedia)

Group Stage Matchups

In contrast to the newer Swiss-format groups, one benefit of the round-robin system is that we know all matchups in advance. So, without further ado, here’s the full Group Stage schedule:

ESL One Raleigh - Group A - April 7th

ESL One Raleigh - Group B - April 7th

ESL One Raleigh - Group A - April 8th

ESL One Raleigh - Group B - April 8th

ESL One Raleigh - Group A - April 9th

ESL One Raleigh - Group B - April 9th

Important Notes on Teams and Rosters

Several unexpected developments occurred leading up to ESL One Raleigh, so here are some key clarifications:

  • AVULUS stepped in instead of NaVi Junior after the latter was disqualified due to the major bug abuse incident during the qualifiers.
  • Team Falcons will play with Quinn "Quinn" Callahan as a stand-in for Stanislav "Malr1ne" Potorak, who faced visa issues. Keep this in mind if you're placing bets or predictions.
  • Xtreme Gaming was initially set to represent China but failed to field a roster in time. Team Tidebound took their slot as the next eligible team from the regional qualifiers.

Local and Remote Talent

Due to visa complications — an all-too-common hurdle for U.S.-based events — ESL had to split its talent lineup between on-site and remote contributors.

On the bright side, many fan-favorite personalities will be in Raleigh, including Cap, Slacks, Sunsfan, and Jenkins, all of whom are U.S. citizens and thus avoided visa delays..

That’s everything you need to know before the tournament kicks off! The Group Stage runs from April 7th to April 9th, followed by the playoffs from April 10th to April 13th.

To stay up to date with all the latest ESL One Raleigh news, check out our tournament page. For broader esports coverage and updates, be sure to visit our news page!

Featured Image Source: Twitter (@ESLDota2)

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