Saudi eLeague CHALLENGER - DOTA II

1. Tournament Format: Double Elimination

The tournament follows a Double Elimination format, which consists of two main brackets:

• Upper Bracket (Winners Bracket): All teams start here. Winning teams advance forward, while losing teams drop down to the Lower Bracket.

• Lower Bracket (Losers Bracket): Teams that lose a match in the Upper Bracket get a second chance here. A loss in this bracket results in immediate elimination from the tournament.

2. Match Format (Series Type)

The matches are played using two different formats depending on the stage:

• Best of 3 (Bo3): Most tournament matches (Quarterfinals, Semifinals, and Lower Bracket rounds) are played in this format, where the first team to win 2 games wins the series (evident from results like 2-0 and 2-1).

• Best of 5 (Bo5): Reserved exclusively for the Grand Final. The first team to win 3 games wins the tournament.

3. Tournament Progression & Stages

Stage 1: Upper Bracket Quarterfinals (May 7)

Winners advanced in the Upper Bracket; losers dropped to the Lower Bracket:

• Geekay Esports defeated Bright Future (2-0)

• Stallions Dota defeated Team Spire (2-0)

• Alula Dota 2 defeated R8 Esports (2-0)

• ZNTRX Dota2 defeated Lions (2-0)

Stage 2: Upper Bracket Semifinals (May 7)

• Geekay Esports defeated Stallions Dota (2-0) to advance to the Upper Bracket Final.

• Alula Dota 2 defeated ZNTRX Dota2 (2-1) to advance to the Upper Bracket Final.

Stage 3: Upper Bracket Final (May 8)

• Alula Dota 2 defeated Geekay Esports (2-1). With this win, Alula secured the first spot in the Grand Final, while Geekay dropped to the Lower Bracket Final.

Stage 4: Lower Bracket Final (May 9)

The last remaining team from the Lower Bracket faced the loser of the Upper Bracket Final:

• Geekay Esports defeated ZNTRX Dota2 (2-1), earning their spot back into the Grand Final.

Stage 5: Grand Final (May 10)

• A rematch between the Upper Bracket champion (Alula Dota 2) and the Lower Bracket survivor (Geekay Esports).

• Geekay Esports won the Bo5 series 3-1 to become the tournament champions.