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Tundra Esports and Team Spirit pulled out 2-1 victories in the upper-bracket semifinals to kick off the playoff stage of the Dota 2 ESL One Raleigh event on Thursday.

Tundra defeated PARIVISION before Spirit posted the same result against Team Falcons. Tundra and Spirit will square off in the upper-bracket final, while the losing sides dropped into the lower bracket.

The $1 million tournament in North Carolina — the first ESL One event played in the United States since 2015 — runs through Sunday. It is the fourth of five events that make up the ESL Pro Tour. DreamLeague Season 26 will be held in Europe from May 19-June 1.

In Raleigh, the 12 teams were split into two six-team groups for three days of round-robin play. Group-play matches were two games apiece, with ties possible. The top two teams from each group advanced to the upper bracket of the playoffs, the third- and fourth-place teams headed to the lower bracket and the fifth- and sixth-place teams were eliminated.

The winner will take home $250,000 in prize money, $40,000 in club money and a share of the 27,920 ESL Pro Tour points available in the tournament. The second-place squad will receive $130,000 and $35,000 plus EPT points.

On Thursday, Tundra Esports got into a hole when PARIVISION prevailed in 28 minutes on green, but Tundra responded with wins of 37 minutes and 20 minutes on red. In the two Tundra wins, Remco “Crystallis” Arets of the Netherlands racked up 16 kills, 15 assists and only one death.

Team Spirit also came from behind, as Team Falcons started out with a 45-minute win on green. Spirit triumphed in 29 minutes and 43 minutes on green. On the decisive third map, Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk of Ukraine posted a 12-1-13 kills-deaths-assists ratio for Spirit and Russian Denis “Larl” Sigitov added a 9-2-20.

The tournament continues Friday with three matches:
–Team Liquid vs. AVULUS (lower bracket Round 1)
–BetBoom Team vs. Nigma Galaxy (lower bracket Round 1)
–PARIVISON vs. Liquid/AVULUS winner (lower bracket quarterfinals)

Dota ESL One Raleigh 2025 prize pool (player prize money, club reward, EPT points)
1. $250,000, $40,000, points TBD
2. $130,000, $35,000
3. $100,000, $27,500
4. $70,000, $22,500
5-6. $40,000, $20,000
7-8. $25,000, $17,500
9-10. Shopify Rebellion, Team Tidebound — $20,000, $15,000, 560
11-12. Talon Esports, HEROIC — $15,000, $10,000, 280

–Field Level Media