1win Streamers League 3 Reveals Format

Published October 11, 2026

The organizers of 1win Streamers League #3 have outlined a Dota 2 event built around eight teams and a $60,000 prize pool. The competition is due in mid-October and will begin with two groups of four. It is a media-focused tournament, but the newly announced structure gives it a conventional competitive path: group matches decide who continues, a double-elimination bracket follows, and the title is settled in a longer grand final. Four captains have been named while the remaining lineups are still undisclosed.

The group stage uses best-of-three series. One team from each group will be eliminated, leaving six teams for the playoff bracket. Playoff series keep that best-of-three length until the grand final, which switches to best-of-five. The format matters because finishing the group stage is not enough to secure a straight path to the title: teams must then survive a bracket with both upper and lower routes. The organizers have also added a drafting twist on the opening map of a series, making the first game strategically different from any later maps between the same opponents.

A protected hero on the first map

The event uses a modified Captains Mode rule. On the first map, each team has a hero that the opponent cannot ban and cannot select for itself. That protection does not continue on subsequent maps, according to the announced details. The result is a specific opening-game wrinkle, not a permanent exemption from the draft throughout a series. Teams can plan around one protected option at the start, but they must return to the ordinary selection contest if the match reaches another map. The report does not state which heroes will be chosen, so no team-specific draft advantage can yet be assigned from the rule alone. The protected option could affect the opening ban sequence even before either captain commits to a lineup. Because the exemption disappears after the first map, an opponent can adjust its draft response later in the series. That creates a defined tactical difference between the opener and the rest of a match without changing the number of games needed to win it.

The four disclosed captains are Stray, zxcursed, by_Owl and ALOHADANCE. Their teams form only half of the announced field; four more rosters have not been revealed. That distinction is important for any early preview: the tournament format and prize pool are set out, but the complete participant list is not. The previous edition offers a point of reference without filling those gaps. LenS’s team won the last Streamers League event, beating by_Owl’s roster 3–1 in the final. That earlier result establishes the series’ recent competitive history, not the outcome or seeding of the new season.

What is confirmed before the opening games

The organizer’s outline answers several practical questions for viewers. There will be eight teams overall, divided evenly into two groups; the first stage removes one team per group; the remaining six move into a double-elimination playoff. Most series require two map wins, while the final requires three. The prize pool is $60,000. The unusual draft rule is confined to the first map, so a team cannot assume the same protected pick throughout a full best-of-three or best-of-five contest. What remains open is the identity of the final four squads and the exact matchups they will create. Until those rosters are announced, the named captains are the only confirmed participant anchors.

• Named captains: Stray and zxcursed are among the four disclosed team leaders.
• Also announced: by_Owl and ALOHADANCE; four other rosters remain unconfirmed.

Stage	Announced series format
Two groups of four	Best-of-three; one team exits each group
Double-elimination playoff	Best-of-three until the final
Grand final	Best-of-five

The third Streamers League now has a clear route from groups to the trophy and an opening-map draft rule worth watching. A full competitive preview still depends on the four unannounced teams. For now, the confirmed details are enough to explain how a team advances and why the first draft of a series will carry an extra constraint.