ESL has shared details about the upcoming 2026/2027 EPT season

11.09.2026

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4 min.

Tournament operator ESL published the tournament dates, prize pools, and additional information about the competitions for the upcoming ESL Pro Tour 2026/2027 season.

Three DreamLeague tournaments (Season 30, 31, and 32) are scheduled for the next season, each with a $750,000 prize pool, as well as one LAN tournament in Europe with $1,000,000 at stake.

ESL representatives noted that particular emphasis has been placed on DreamLeague Season 31, where slots for the LAN tournament and DreamLeague Season 32 will be at stake. ESL One Europe will also be an important event, offering the largest number of EPT points needed to earn an invitation to the Esports World Cup.

ESL will also continue supporting the tier-2 scene by holding three more DreamLeague Division 2 tournaments (Series 5, 6, and 7) next season. These competitions will also offer slots for tier-1 DreamLeague tournaments.

Along with the schedule, ESL updated the ESL Pro Tour rules. One of the main changes concerns North America, which will no longer have separate regional qualifiers. Teams from the region will be able to choose which region's qualifiers they want to participate in, with the exception of South America and Western Europe. The organizers will not change the qualifier format or increase the number of slots to accommodate North American teams.

Another change will allow teams to compete under an alternative brand or name if the use of their primary name or logo is prohibited by local laws or platform rules, for example due to connections with gambling. The alternative brand must be clearly different from the original and cannot simply be a temporary copy with minor changes to the name, logo, or colors. Its use must also receive prior approval from ESL.

The updated ESL Pro Tour rules will apply to DreamLeague tournaments and the Esports World Cup, among other events.

In addition, to demonstrate its long-term commitment to Dota 2 and its intention to support a healthy ecosystem, the tournament operator presented a preliminary overview of ESL Pro Tour Season 2027/2028: four tier-1 championships and four more tier-2 competitions are planned for the following season.