Jul 14, 2026.
The Dota 2 group stage at EWC 26 has concluded. After a grueling week of round-robin action, eight teams have been eliminated, leaving the remaining contenders to battle through the knockout stage. With everything on the line, Week 2 will determine who can climb to the top and claim the biggest share of the $2,000,000 prize pool while etching their names into EWC history.
The top teams from each Dota 2 group at EWC 26 proved they were a step ahead of the competition. Team Falcons, Nigma Galaxy, PVISION, and Team Yandex each secured first place in their respective groups, earning direct spots in the playoffs. Remarkably, all four squads finished the group stage with identical 9-1 records, dropping just a single game rather than a full series throughout the opening stage of the tournament.
The second- through fourth-place finishers from each group now enter the Survival Stage, where they will fight for the final four playoff spots. The 12 remaining teams will compete in a king-of-the-hill, single-elimination bracket, with second-place teams receiving a higher seed and needing just one best-of-three victory to advance. But with elimination looming, a single mistake could bring their EWC 26 journey to an end.
Team Spirit returned to EWC 26 looking to become back-to-back Dota 2 champions, but the road to a repeat title has already become more difficult. Last year's winners were pushed into the Survival Stage after draws against MOUZ and PVISION left them outside the top two in their group. They will now face the winner of Team Liquid vs. Xtreme Gaming in Round 2 of the bracket, with a single best-of-three determining whether their title defense continues.
A second consecutive EWC championship would place Team Spirit among an exclusive group of repeat champions, joining players like Tekken 8 champion Lim "Ulsan" Soo-hoon and Street Fighter 6 champion Zeng "Xiao Hai" Zhuojun, who have already achieved back-to-back EWC titles.
Last year's EWC runner-up, Team Falcons, have returned to the EWC stage looking stronger than ever. Since their 0-3 defeat to Team Spirit in the EWC 25 Grand Final, the team made history by winning The International 2025 and cementing themselves as one of Dota 2's elite squads.
They carried that momentum into EWC 26, dominating their group with a 9-1 record and earning a direct path to the playoffs. Now, Team Falcons are chasing the one trophy that has eluded them: the EWC championship.
Several top clubs from EWC 25 are returning to the Dota 2 stage at EWC 26 looking to improve on their previous results. At EWC 25, Team Falcons earned 750 Club Championship points from their second-place finish, while Team Liquid secured 200 points after placing 5th-8th. Both clubs, alongside Virtus.pro and Aurora Gaming, are still competing at EWC 26 and will look to add to their Club Championship totals when Dota 2 concludes.
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