Gaimin Gladiators wants to win this too.
20 teams enter — one team leaves as millionaires.
The Riyadh Masters 2023 — featuring a US$15 million prize pool, and a US$5 million purse for its winners — is kicking off.
With the Dota Pro Circuit behind us, and The International 12 still months away, high octane action around one of esports’ largest prize pools will help tide fans over until Dota 2’s premier event in October.
What is the Riyadh Masters 2023?
It is the final tournament in the inaugural ESL Pro Tour, featuring some of the best teams in the world as they gear up for TI12.
Though not part of the Dota Pro Circuit — already concluded ahead of October’s TI12 — but the hefty US$15 million prize pool is sure to entice teams.
Teams competing in Riyadh Masters 2023
Group stage seeds
These teams have qualified for the group stage due to their performances in the first two tournaments of the ESL Pro Tour, DreamLeagues 19 and 20.
- Gaimin Gladiators
- BetBoom Team
- PSG.LGD
- Evil Geniuses
- Tundra Esports
- Shopify Rebellion
- Team Spirit
- Talon Esports
Play-in seeds
These teams have been invited to the tournament based on ESL’s own EPT ranking.
- Team Liquid
- 9Pandas
- TSM
- beastboast
- Team Aster
- Execration
- OG
- Virtus Pro
- Entity
- Xtreme Gaming
- Team Secret
- Quest Esports
Format of Riyadh Masters 2023
Of the 20 attending teams, eight teams had secured their group stage seeds through their performances at DreamLeagues 19 and 20.
The remaining 12 teams, qualified via the EPT and a MENA qualifier, play a single round-robin, best of two. The top two teams will qualify for the group stage, before a short, single-elimination bracket kicks off that sees four more teams exit the tournament.
The group stage then kicks off with two groups of eight teams each, once again playing best-of-twos, single round-robin. The top four teams enter the upper bracket, the next two advance to the lower bracket, and the last two teams are eliminated.
The tournament then heads into more familiar territory — a double-bracket playoffs. Each series is a best-of-three, except for the best-of-five grand final.
Riyadh Masters schedule and results
Play-in standings
Group A
| STANDING | TEAM | GAME RECORD | MATCH RECORD (W-D-L) |
| 1st | Entity | — | — |
| 2nd | Execration | — | — |
| 3rd | Team Aster | — | — |
| 4th | Team Liquid | — | — |
| 5th | TSM | — | — |
| 6th | Virtus Pro | — | — |
Group B
| STANDING | TEAM | GAME RECORD | MATCH RECORD (W-D-L) |
| 1st | 9Pandas | — | — |
| 2nd | beastcoast | — | — |
| 3rd | OG | — | — |
| 4th | Quest Esports | — | — |
| 5th | Team Secret | — | — |
| 6th | Xtreme Gaming | — | — |
(Group stage standings will be updated after each round of games)
Play-in group stage results
July 19
| TIME IN GMT+8 | TIME IN GMT | TIME IN PT |
| 5 p.m. | 9 a.m. | 2 a.m. |
Group A
| TEAM | RESULTS | TEAM |
| Team Liquid | — | Entity |
| Team Aster | — | Virtus Pro |
| Execration | — | TSM |
Group B
| TEAM | RESULTS | TEAM |
| OG | — | Quest Esports |
| beastcoast | — | Team Secret |
| Xtreme Gaming | — | 9Pandas |
| TIME IN GMT+8 | TIME IN GMT | TIME IN PT |
| 7:30 p.m. | 11:30 a.m. | 4:30 a.m. |
Group A
| TEAM | RESULTS | TEAM |
| Execration | — | Team Liquid |
| Virtus Pro | — | Entity |
| Team Aster | — | TSM |
Group B
| TEAM | RESULTS | TEAM |
| beastcoast | — | OG |
| 9Pandas | — | Quest Esports |
| Xtreme Gaming | — | Team Secret |
| TIME IN GMT+8 | TIME IN GMT | TIME IN PT |
| 10 p.m. | 2 p.m. | 7 a.m. |
Group A
| TEAM | RESULTS | TEAM |
| Virtus Pro | — | Team Liquid |
| Execration | — | Team Aster |
| Entity | — | TSM |
Group B
| TEAM | RESULTS | TEAM |
| Quest Esports | — | Team Secret |
| 9Pandas | — | OG |
| beastcoast | — | Xtreme Gaming |
| TIME IN GMT+8 | TIME IN GMT | TIME IN PT |
| July 20, 12:30 a.m. | 4:30 p.m. | 9:30 a.m. |
Group A
| TEAM | RESULTS | TEAM |
| TSM | — | Team Liquid |
| Entity | — | Team Aster |
| Execration | — | Virtus Pro |
Group B
| TEAM | RESULTS | TEAM |
| 9Pandas | — | beastcoast |
| Team Secret | — | OG |
| Quest Esports | — | Xtreme Gaming |
July 20
| TIME IN GMT+8 | TIME IN GMT | TIME IN PT |
| 5 p.m. | 9 a.m. | 2 a.m. |
Group A
| TEAM | RESULTS | TEAM |
| Team Liquid | — | Team Aster |
| TSM | — | Virtus Pro |
| Execration | — | Entity |
Group B
| TEAM | RESULTS | TEAM |
| beastcoast | — | Quest Esports |
| Team Secret | — | 9Pandas |
| OG | — | Xtreme Gaming |
Play-in decider schedule and results
(To be updated)
Group stage standings
Group A
| STANDING | TEAM | GAME RECORD | MATCH RECORD (W-D-L) |
| 1st | Evil Geniuses | — | — |
| 2nd | Gaimin Gladiators | — | — |
| 3rd | PSG.LGD | — | — |
| 4th | Team Spirit | — | — |
| 5th | — | — | — |
| 6th | — | — | — |
| 7th | — | — | — |
| 8th | — | — | — |
Group B
| STANDING | TEAM | GAME RECORD | MATCH RECORD (W-D-L) |
| 1st | BetBoom Team | — | — |
| 2nd | Shopify Rebellion | — | — |
| 3rd | Talon Esports | — | — |
| 4th | Tundra Esports | — | — |
| 5th | — | — | — |
| 6th | — | — | — |
| 7th | — | — | — |
| 8th | — | — | — |
(Group stage standings will be updated after each round of games)
Riyadh Masters 2023 group stage schedule and results
(To be updated)
Riyadh Masters 2023 playoffs schedule and results
July 25
Upper bracket quarterfinals
| TEAM | SCHEDULE | TEAM |
| — | 4 p.m. GMT +8 | 8 a.m. GMT | 1 a.m. PT | — |
| — | 7:35 p.m. GMT +8 | 11:35 a.m. GMT | 4:35 a.m. PT | — |
| — | 11:05 p.m. GMT +8 | 3:05 p.m. GMT | 8:05 a.m. PT | — |
| — | July 26, 2:40 a.m. GMT +8 | 6:05 p.m. GMT | 11:05 a.m. PT | — |
July 26
Lower bracket round 1
| TEAM | SCHEDULE | TEAM |
| — | 5 p.m. GMT +8 | 9 a.m. GMT | 2 a.m. PT | — |
| — | 8:35 p.m. GMT +8 | 12:35 p.m. GMT | 5:35 a.m. PT | — |
| — | July 27, 12:05 a.m. GMT +8 | 4:05 p.m. GMT | 9:05 a.m. PT | — |
July 27
Lower bracket round 1
| TEAM | SCHEDULE | TEAM |
| — | 5 p.m. GMT +8 | 9 a.m. GMT | 2 a.m. PT | — |
Upper bracket semifinals
| TEAM | SCHEDULE | TEAM |
| — | 8:35 p.m. GMT +8 | 12:35 p.m. GMT | 5:35 a.m. PT | — |
| — | July 28, 12:05 a.m. GMT +8 | 4:05 p.m. GMT | 9:05 a.m. PT | — |
July 28
Lower bracket round 2
| TEAM | SCHEDULE | TEAM |
| — | 5 p.m. GMT +8 | 9 a.m. GMT | 2 a.m. PT | — |
| — | 8:35 p.m. GMT +8 | 12:35 p.m. GMT | 5:35 a.m. PT | — |
Lower bracket quarterfinals
| TEAM | SCHEDULE | TEAM |
| — | July 29, 12:05 a.m. GMT +8 | 4:05 p.m. GMT | 9:05 a.m. PT | — |
July 29
Lower bracket quarterfinals
| TEAM | SCHEDULE | TEAM |
| — | 5 p.m. GMT +8 | 9 a.m. GMT | 2 a.m. PT | — |
Upper bracket final
| TEAM | SCHEDULE | TEAM |
| — | 8:35 p.m. GMT +8 | 12:35 p.m. GMT | 5:35 a.m. PT | — |
Lower bracket semifinal
| TEAM | SCHEDULE | TEAM |
| — | July 30, 12:05 a.m. GMT +8 | 4:05 p.m. GMT | 9:05 a.m. PT | — |
July 30
Lower bracket final
| TEAM | SCHEDULE | TEAM |
| — | 7 p.m. GMT +8 | 11 a.m. GMT | 4 a.m. PT | — |
Grand final
| TEAM | SCHEDULE | TEAM |
| — | 11 p.m. GMT +8 | 3 p.m. GMT | 8 a.m. PT | — |
(To be updated)
Riyadh Masters 2023 prize pool
| STANDING | TEAMS | PRIZE MONEY |
| 1st | — | US$5,000,000 |
| 2nd | — | US$2,500,000 |
| 3rd | — | US$1,700,000 |
| 4th | — | US$1,200,000 |
| 5th-6th | — | US$800,000 |
| 7th-8th | — | US$500,000 |
| 9th-12th | — | US$300,000 |
| 13th-14th | — | US$200,000 |
| 15th-16th | — | US$100,000 |
| 17th-20th | — | US$50,000 |
Where to watch
You can watch the tournament on Epulze’s official Twitch and YouTube channels.
READ MORE: The Dota 2 hero tier list (July 2023) | Bali Major edition
