The Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2026 is scheduled to take place in Paris, France from July 7 to 19. The tournament will feature 24 teams competing for a prize pool of $2 million.
It consists of three stages: a Group Stage from July 7 to 11, a Survival Stage on July 14 and 15 and the Qualifiers from July 16 to 19. Team Spirit returns as defending champions.
Twelve teams received direct invites based on their ranking on the ESL Pro Tour leaderboard, while 11 teams qualified through regional qualifiers. As reigning champions, Team Spirit secured their place in the tournament.
How the Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2026 format works
The tournament is structured in three stages:
- The group stage has 24 teams divided into four groups of six. They compete in a round-robin format, with each series consisting of two games. The best team in each group advances directly to the playoffs.
- In the survival stage, the second, third and fourth place teams in each group enter single-elimination brackets. Fourth-place teams face third-place teams, and the winners compete against second-place teams in best-of-three matches.
- The playoffs bring together the four winners of the survival phase and the four group winners in a single-elimination bracket. All playoff games are played best of three, except the grand final, which is best of five.
At the end of the group stage, the bottom two teams in each group are eliminated.
The $2 million prize pool is divided among the top finishers as follows: the champion receives $750,000 and 1,000 Club Points. Second place receives $340,000 and 750 Club Points. The third place winner wins $200,000 and 500 Club Points.
Those who come in fourth place will receive $120,000 and 300 Club Points. Participants who finish fifth through eighth place will each receive $70,000 and 200 Club Points.
Those in ninth through twelfth place earn $40,000 each. Thirteenth through sixteenth place finishers each receive $20,000, while those finishing seventeenth through twentieth place receive $10,000 each. Ranks twenty-first through twenty-fourth each receive $7,500.
Which teams play and when do the games start?
Times indicated in CEST.
July 7:
- Group A: Team Falcons vs. BB Team, GamerLegion vs. Poor Rangers, Xtreme Gaming vs. Rune Eaters (11am)
- Group B: Team Liquid vs. PlayTime, Nigma Galaxy vs. L1GA Team, Aurora vs. Level UP (1:30 p.m.)
- Group C: Team Spirit vs. MOUZ, REKONIX vs. Vici Gaming, PVISION vs. Team Nemesis (4:00 pm)
- Group D: Team Yandex vs. OG, Virtus.pro vs. LGD Gaming, Team 1w vs. IC x Insanity (6:30 pm)
From July 8 to 11: Each group will play the remaining round-robin matches in the same time slots (11:00, 13:30, 16:00 and 18:30 CEST).
Key matchups later in the group stage include Team Spirit vs. PVISION on July 11, Team Falcons vs. Xtreme Gaming on July 11 and Team Liquid vs. Aurora on July 11.
The 24 competing teams and their qualifying paths include direct invites from the EPT leaderboard, which includes teams such as 1w Team, PVISION, Aurora Gaming, Xtreme Gaming, Team Yandex, Team Falcons, Team Liquid, BB Team, MOUZ, PlayTime, OG and Virtus.pro. The defending champion is Team Spirit.
The regional qualifiers have also determined several places:
- The Western European qualifiers are LGD Gaming and Rune Eaters;
- Those from Eastern Europe are Level UP, Poor Rangers, L1GA Team and IC x Insanity;
- The representative of China is Vici Gaming;
- The Southeast Asia qualifier is REKONIX;
- North America is represented by GamerLegion;
- South America by Team Nemesis; and MESWA qualified Nigma Galaxy.
Notable rosters include Team Spirit, featuring players such as Yatoro, Larl, and Collapse; Team Falcons, with skiter, Malr1ne, ATF, Cr1t- and Sneyking; and the 1w team, made up of Pure, bzm, 33, Ari and Whitemon. The latter team acquired the Tundra Esports roster.
Who are the main contenders and how to watch them
Team Spirit is back to defend their title against a tough lineup. The Falcons team finished second in the 2025 event and is considered a strong contender.
Other teams showing recent form include 1w Team, PVISION, Xtreme Gaming and Team Liquid. Several of these teams are also aiming to qualify for Dota 2 The International 2026, adding importance to this tournament as a pre-TI15 event.
Live matches are available on the official Esports World Cup streaming channels:
- Twitch (main channel)
- Twitch (secondary channel)
- YouTube
The tournament will take place from July 7 to 19. Group stage results and standings will be updated as the matches finish. The winner will be decided in the grand final on July 19 in Paris.
