The Esports World Cup 2026 is back—and this one is different. Originally planned for Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the tournament was moved to Paris, France, on May 20 due to ongoing tensions in the Middle East. The venue changes, but the stakes don't. This is the closest thing Dota 2 has to a mini-TI, serving as the final championship of the fourth season of the ESL Pro Tour, and every team here knows exactly what this tournament means for their legacy, their organization, and their EWC Club standings. The prize pool, the prestige, the crowd — this is what the whole year has been building toward.
I'll be covering every single series with pre-match analysis, ELO-based predictions, and full aftermath breakdowns—no backdating, no excuses, just honest picks.
Group Stage: Four groups of six teams each, playing a full round-robin. All series consist of two games (Bo2). The top team from each group advances directly to the playoffs. Teams finishing 2nd through 4th drop into the Survival stage. The bottom two teams from each group are eliminated.
Survival: single-elimination. 4th place plays 3rd place, and the winner faces 2nd place. All matches are Bo3. Four teams advance to the playoffs.
Playoffs: single-elimination bracket. All matches are Bo3, with the Grand Final played as a Bo5. No second chances—every match from here is win or go home.
Prediction accuracy
Head to Head
10 tracked series · newest left
Team Falcons
My take
Clearly the match of the day. Malr1ne is back. That alone changes everything—remember what Falcons looked like without him at BLAST Slam VII? Gpk is always dangerous. But in this slow meta where games go 60 minutes, ATF and Malr1ne (hell, even skiter) just outfarm everyone. I'm going with Falcons.
GamerLegion
My take
I genuinely want to see TA2000 do well here. But GL is a nightmare in the early game if you don't ban Kez or Ember, and poor Rangers won't. I'm going with GamerLegion.
Xtreme Gaming
My take
I keep giving Xtreme chances, and they keep embarrassing me. But this is a qualifier team. Even a broken Xtreme with Ame farming for 40 minutes should be enough. I'm going with Xtreme. Prove me wrong, guys. Again.
Draw (1–1)
My take
You never know what kind of Team Liquid version will show up. Buckle up; this will be a 70-minute bloodbath in each map. I'm going with a draw because I believe PlayTime needs to prove their worth after that 3-0 loss to LGD in the qualifiers.
Head to Head
3 tracked series · newest left
Draw (1–1)
My take
I know that you think Sumail and Lorenof will destroy L1GA. But let me tell you something you don't know: L1GA qualified for The International 2026 just a week ago, and they are NOT your yolo tier 2 team. These dudes are legit, and I think they will steal a map from Nigma Galaxy.
Aurora Gaming
My take
That's another bad draw, but this time for Level UP. Aurora is hungry after two runner-up finishes in a row. Nightfall on Phantom Lancer alone ends this. I'm going with Aurora. 2-0.
Team Spirit
My take
MOUZ will cause at least one upset in this tournament—they always do. But against Spirit? No chance. I'm going with Team Spirit.
Vici Gaming
My take
REKONIX earned their spot, and I respect that. But Vici is just better in every department. I'm going with Vici Gaming. 2-0.
PARIVISION
My take
Man, what a brutal draw for Nemesis. Astini is a genius coach, and they surprised everyone in the SA qualifiers. But boys, this is PARIVISION—the DreamLeague champions. Satanic will outfarm whatever they put on the map before they finish their starting items. I'm going with PARIVISION.
Head to Head
3 tracked series · newest left
Team Yandex
My take
I've seen OG play in the IT qualifiers, and I don't think their playstyle will match well against Yandex. The thing is, they play super greedy and I believe this will be their downfall. Yandex will pressure them early and will push the high ground in 25 minutes.
LGD Gaming
My take
Three tournaments in a row of disappointment from VP. And they just lost the TI qualifiers to a tier 2 team. I don't know what else to tell you. I'm going with LGD. 2-0.
1win
My take
This is ex-Tundra, boys. Yes, they've been struggling. But IC x Insanity is not the team that can hang with them. I'm going with 1win. 2-0.
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Esports World Cup
| # | Team | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 |  | POO |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Jul | 11 Jul | 10 Jul | 8 Jul | 9 Jul | |
| 7 Jul | 9 Jul | 8 Jul | 11 Jul | 10 Jul | |
| 11 Jul | 9 Jul | 7 Jul | 10 Jul |
| # | Team | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| # | Team | W | D | L | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 8 Jul |
| 10 Jul | 8 Jul | 7 Jul | 9 Jul | 11 Jul |
| 8 Jul | 11 Jul | 10 Jul | 9 Jul | 7 Jul |
| 9 Jul | 10 Jul | 8 Jul | 11 Jul | 7 Jul |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Jul | 11 Jul | 10 Jul | 8 Jul | 9 Jul | |
| 7 Jul | 9 Jul | 8 Jul | 11 Jul | 10 Jul | |
| 11 Jul | 9 Jul | 7 Jul | 10 Jul | 8 Jul | |
| 10 Jul | 8 Jul | 7 Jul | 9 Jul | 11 Jul | |
| 8 Jul | 11 Jul | 10 Jul | 9 Jul | 7 Jul | |
| 9 Jul | 10 Jul | 8 Jul | 11 Jul | 7 Jul |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 |  |  |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Jul | 12 Jul | 10 Jul | 8 Jul | 9 Jul | |
| 7 Jul | 9 Jul | 8 Jul | 12 Jul | 10 Jul | |
| 12 Jul | 9 Jul | 7 Jul | 10 Jul | 8 Jul | |
| 10 Jul | 8 Jul | 7 Jul | 9 Jul | 12 Jul | |
| 8 Jul | 12 Jul | 10 Jul | 9 Jul | 7 Jul | |
| 9 Jul | 10 Jul | 8 Jul | 12 Jul | 7 Jul |
| 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
 | | |  |  |  |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 Jul | 12 Jul | 10 Jul | 8 Jul | 9 Jul | |
| 7 Jul | 9 Jul | 8 Jul | 12 Jul | 10 Jul | |
| 12 Jul | 9 Jul | 7 Jul | 10 Jul | 8 Jul | |
| 10 Jul | 8 Jul | 7 Jul | 9 Jul | 12 Jul | |
| 8 Jul | 12 Jul | 10 Jul | 9 Jul | 7 Jul | |
| 9 Jul | 10 Jul | 8 Jul | 12 Jul | 7 Jul |
![No[o]ne](https://segblxwrbtupwiueqnsw.supabase.co/storage/v1/object/public/images/players/noone.png)
