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Sixteen teams compete Feb. 15-19 for a prize pool of $450,000. $200,000 will go to the winning team, with the runners-up taking home half that amount.
DreamHack tournament structure
The tournament is conducted over two stages. The first is the group stage where the 16 teams are drawn into four groups of four for a round-robin. The top two teams in each group progress into the second phase of the tournament.
This is the playoffs, and from here it is a straight knockout format until two teams remain to compete in Sunday’s final.
The draw for the group stage looks like this:
- Group A – Astralis, North (formerly Dignitas), OpTic Gaming, compLexity Gaming
- Group B – Virtus.pro, Fnatic, Gambit Esports, Misfits
- Group C – SK Gaming, Ninjas in Pyjamas, Cloud9, TyLoo
- Group D – FaZe Clan, Natus Vincere, mousesports, Renegades
The opening group phase is a best-of-one matchup, which means teams have to hit the ground running to win. However, following the group stage, the games revert to best-of-three matches. This gives teams more of a chance to get established in the match and bounce back.
The DreamHack odds
Bet365 Sport is offering great action all week. Let’s take a look now at some of the most popular betting markets for this big esports event.
The outright winner market is perhaps one of the most open in recent memory. At the moment, three teams are joint 4/1 favorites to win, Astralis, SK Gaming, and Natus Vincere. Virtus Pro at 11/2 and Fnatic at 13/2 are just behind.
The second-tier teams, potential spoilers, include North (11/1), FaZe Clan (14/1), Ninjas in Pyjamas (16/1), plus Optic Gaming and Gambit Gaming at 25/1 apiece. Mousesports are 28/1, and Cloud9 are 30/1.
The true outsiders are TyLoo at 100/1, Renegades at 200/1, and compLexity Gaming and Misfits at 500/1.
Bet365 offers a number of different markets on all the matches, including a chance to bet on which teams will reach the final, which region the winner will come from, the group the winner will come from, plus a number of different match betting options, including handicap betting.
Final four qualifiers for Dota 2 Asia Championships
In the past couple of weeks, we have covered the four final qualifying tournaments to see who will join the 12 
confirmed teams at the Dota 2 Asia Championships 2017. After last week’s crucial matches, we finally know the lineup for this big event.
Congratulations to Team NP (Americas), Team Faceless (Southeast Asia), Team Liquid (Europe), and Team Empire (CIS). They all came through very competitive qualifying sections to reach Shanghai at the end of March and compete for the $500,000 prize pool.
Bet365 is already offering betting on which of the 16 teams will win the event outright. Evil Geniuses are the 5/2 favorites ahead of OG (3/1) and European qualifiers Team Liquid (9/2). Those three teams seem to be the fans favorites. After that, Wings Gaming and Newbee are both 8/1 shots.
Alternatively, if punters fancy a flutter on an outsider, they can back IG Vitality and Vici Gaming at 20/1, Team NP at 25/1, LGD Forever Young at 33/1, and Team Empire at 66/1.
Hearthstone Trinity Series betting options
We don’t often get to mention another popular esports game, Hearthstone. But one of the game’s biggest winter tournaments is underway right now. 
The Trinity Series features eight of the best Hearthstone teams competing for a $75,000 share of the $150,000 prize pool.
One of the most appealing aspects of this tournament for punters is the even nature of the competition. It’s reflected in the current standings, which sees all teams having played four matches. No team so far is without a loss or a win.
G2 Esports and compLexity Gaming lead the way with 3-1 records, with Virtus.pro and Cloud9 at the foot of the table with 1-3 records. All other teams, Luminosity Gaming, Team Liquid, Tempo Storm, and Alliance have 2-2 records heading into the next set of games.
Each match is a best-of-11 matchup, with the first team to reach six victories claiming the point. The group stage is scheduled to take around two weeks to complete. Once all teams have played their seven games, then the top four teams in the group will advance to the offline playoffs. These will be held in the ESL American Studios in Burbank, California.
Currently, Bet365 is offering a chance to bet on the match winner result of forthcoming group stage games. This includes matches involving the top two teams, G2 and compLexity.
