1win Essence Season 1 Aftermath

---

The 1Win tournament is over; PARIVISION is your champion. Overall I liked the tournament, but I have some things that I definitely didn't like.

1. I would never understand why there was not an official Twitch channel. The platform that they provided barely had any visitors, and most of the people didn't even know that the tournament existed.

2. Another reason is the invites. Most of the invited teams just declined participation in the last minute because DreamLeague Season 29 is right after it. The only 2 teams that actually competed were PARIVISION and Tundra Esports.

With all being said, I loved Dota, and I wouldn't say that this was a tier 2 tournament. Let’s start with the standard accountability check—prediction accuracy. I had a 69.4% win rate for this tournament, hitting 25 out of 36 picks correctly. If we consider all the upsets we saw, that’s not too bad. Is it time to brag? Nah, that’s still like getting a C+ on your final exam.

Now, here’s the team-by-team breakdown of how they performed:

PARIVISION

Eastern Europe · ELO 1631

View team →

Champions. I expected them to be great in an online environment, but wow—PARIVISION were absolutely on another level. We can officially call them the Tier 1.5 Kings (because they also won the PREMIER SERIES in a similar fashion). They dropped only a single map all tournament (and that was when they got a bit too confident testing a strat against SA Rejects). In every other series, they delivered a clinic. It’s almost comical: they were so confident they could beat anyone here that they experimented with flashy drafts (I mean, who runs Huskar as position 4 or a Nature’s Prophet carry in the current patch?) and still won comfortably. The difference in individual skill was that big. Noticed (yes, the same offlaner who was MIA from Team Yandex in Wallachia) stood in for PARIVISION and fit like a glove. I can’t overstate this—PARI’s raw talent is absurd.

1w Team

ELO 1507

View team →

The 1w Team made me eat my words, and I couldn’t be happier to be proven wrong. I don’t think anyone outside their own fans saw these guys making into the Grand Final, but here we are. Actually, we were joking in a Reddit thread that 1Win will win the "1Win tournament" because it is THEIR tournament. They took down Tundra Esports in the upper bracket (yes, that Tundra, with Pure back—a squad I said is a title favorite). Then they had the absolute guts to eliminate PlayTime (South America Rejects) 2-0 in the lower bracket final…that one hurt. I also need to mention that Squad1x was a revelation on mid (the guy literally had games on Storm Spirit and Puck where he didn’t die a single time).

S

South America Rejects

ELO 1578

View team →

Oh man, South America Rejects—now playing under the PlayTime banner—nearly pulled off ANOTHER fairy-tale run. I don't know how they managed to lose against 1Win in the lower bracket finals, but I can tell you this: I had this discussion with a friend, and we both agree that if PlayTime were to play against PARIVISION in the Grand Finals, I believe they could've taken a map or 2 from them. I need to give some props to DarkMago and Scofield. DarkMago remains an absolute animal in the mid lane—his Ember Spirit and Queen of Pain performances are must-watch.

Nigma Galaxy

Western Europe · ELO 1558

View team →

Well, this is a team that plays fast, relentless Dota—they love to choke you out by minute 20. They stomped everyone early on, topping their group with ease. But, as soon as they ran into the South America Rejects, their early-game advantage evaporated. SAR just matched their tempo and waited for the perfect moment to turn the tables in mid-game fights. Twice in this event Nigma went up against the SA boys (once in the upper bracket and once in the lower bracket), and both times they got blanked 0-2. It’s like Nigma’s entire strategy gets nullified by SAR, I don't know.

Yellow Submarine

ELO 1520

View team →

Here’s a team that overperformed in the best way possible. They topped their group stage and honestly looked incredible. I have nothing but respect for these young guys. Rain pulled out a Tinker—mid—yes, Tinker, with a 46% win rate. And he made it look godlike. But I also need to point out that they had their share of mistakes (they lost REKONIX in the upper bracket). Of all teams here, they managed to lose to REKONIX!!!. But their skill showed when they turned around and sent Tundra packing in the lower bracket.

REKONIX

ELO 1434

View team →

I’ll be honest: REKONIX got really lucky, because Nigma beat L1GA in the last match, so they got the second slot in the group stage. They clinched a top 6 finish and managed a BIG upset over Yellow Submarine in the upper bracket (I absolutely did not see that coming). But for every high, there was a head-scratching low. REKONIX sometimes played like a pub stack: unnecessary 4v5 fights and strange item choices (I’m still wondering what that Revenant’s Brooch on Tiny was about when a simple Daedalus would have closed the game). I don't know; maybe they need more experience in the pro scene.

Tundra Esports

Western Europe · ELO 1522

View team →

This one stings to write. Tundra Esports had Pure back in the lineup, and I expected them to just dominate the whole tournament. Instead, we got a full-blown disaster. Tundra didn’t just fail to win—they bombed out in 7th-8th place, getting knocked out by teams they’d normally beat in their sleep. I don't know what else to say, to be honest; they just looked bad. When they lost to a Bristleback carry from 1Win, I thought, Ok, maybe they just got lucky. But when Yellow Submarine straight up swept them 2-0 in the lower bracket decider, it was the nail in the coffin. I don't want to be that guy and give them AGAIN the benefit of the doubt. Let's just say they were too confident and didn't prepare; let's see how they do in the DreamLeague Season 29.

Team Nemesis

ELO 1429

View team →

I had some hope for Team Nemesis coming in (mostly because of some known names and curiosity about their new roster), but they just never got off the ground. They struggled through the group stage, were basically punching bags for the better teams, and only showed small signs of life when they managed to beat Zero Tenacity in an eliminate-or-go-home series. Mid laner 4nalog had a few moments trying to win some games, but it wasn’t enough. They’ve got serious work to do if they want to do more than just make up the numbers at events like this.

MOUZ

Western Europe · ELO 1440

View team →

Alright, it's time for some ranting. How many times are we going to have this conversation? I keep thinking this team will figure things out, especially with SumaiL stepping in as the mid for this event (the king is back and all that). And yet, once again, they completely imploded in a Tier 2 event. Let that sink in: a squad with the caliber of SumaiL, Crystallis, BOOM, and company finished 9th-10th and got knocked out by L1GA Team. Man, I already fear that MOUZ can leave Dota just because of poor results from the team. I mean, you can't go to a tournament and just simply look like a divine five-man stack. Guys, they BARELY won a single match in the whole tournament. I really love the team, and I expect some bounce back, but if they keep rolling like this, I believe they will just disband. And that's sad.

Ok, that's a wrap on 1win Essence 2026 Season 1. To me, this was the appetizer for the mid-season; I can’t wait for the main course. Next up, we’ve got DreamLeague Season 29 coming right around the corner and then BLAST Slam 7 after that.