Team Spirit’s Dota 2 EWC 2026 title defense starts July 7 in Paris

Team Spirit’s Dota 2 EWC 2026 title defense will begin on July 7 in Paris. The Esports World Cup will run through July 19, bring 24 teams into the mix, and award a $2 million prize pool.

The event will move through three stages. The Group Stage runs July 7-11, the Survival Stage follows on July 14-15, and the Playoffs are scheduled for July 16-19. Each group has six teams, every series is a two-game set, and only the group winners will move straight into the playoff bracket.

Teams that finish second through fourth will drop into the Survival Stage, where the fourth-place teams face the third-place teams first and the winners then meet the second-place finishers in best-of-three series. The bottom two teams in each group will be eliminated. At publication, every group still sits at 0-0-0 and 0-0, so the first results will arrive once play starts on July 7.

Opening schedule

The first five days will use the same three daily time windows, with the opening round packed into four group blocks.

July 7

• Group A: Team Falcons vs. BB Team, GamerLegion vs. Poor Rangers, Xtreme Gaming vs. Rune Eaters — 4 a.m. CT / 11 a.m. CEST / 5 p.m. GMT+8
• Group B: Team Liquid vs. PlayTime, Nigma Galaxy vs. L1GA Team, Aurora vs. Level UP — 6:30 a.m. CT / 1:30 p.m. CEST / 7:30 p.m. GMT+8
• Group C: Team Spirit vs. MOUZ, REKONIX vs. Vici Gaming, PVISION vs. Team Nemesis — 9 a.m. CT / 4 p.m. CEST / 10 p.m. GMT+8
• Group D: Team Yandex vs. OG, Virtus.pro vs. LGD Gaming, 1w Team vs. IC x Insanity — 11:30 a.m. CT / 6:30 p.m. CEST / 12:30 a.m. on July 8 GMT+8

July 8

• Group A: Xtreme Gaming vs. GamerLegion, BB Team vs. Poor Rangers, Team Falcons vs. Rune Eaters — 4 a.m. CT / 11 a.m. CEST / 5 p.m. GMT+8
• Group B: Aurora vs. Nigma Galaxy, PlayTime vs. L1GA Team, Team Liquid vs. Level UP — 6:30 a.m. CT / 1:30 p.m. CEST / 7:30 p.m. GMT+8
• Group C: PVISION vs. Vici Gaming, MOUZ vs. REKONIX, Team Spirit vs. Team Nemesis — 9 a.m. CT / 4 p.m. CEST / 10 p.m. GMT+8
• Group D: 1w Team vs. Virtus.pro, OG vs. LGD Gaming, Team Yandex vs. IC x Insanity — 11:30 a.m. CT / 6:30 p.m. CEST / 12:30 a.m. on July 9 GMT+8

July 9

• Group A: Team Falcons vs. GamerLegion, Xtreme Gaming vs. Poor Rangers, BB Team vs. Rune Eaters — 4 a.m. CT / 11 a.m. CEST / 5 p.m. GMT+8
• Group B: Team Liquid vs. Nigma Galaxy, Aurora vs. L1GA Team, PlayTime vs. Level UP — 6:30 a.m. CT / 1:30 p.m. CEST / 7:30 p.m. GMT+8
• Group C: Team Spirit vs. Vici Gaming, MOUZ vs. Team Nemesis, PVISION vs. REKONIX — 9 a.m. CT / 4 p.m. CEST / 10 p.m. GMT+8
• Group D: 1w Team vs. LGD Gaming, Team Yandex vs. Virtus.pro, OG vs. IC x Insanity — 11:30 a.m. CT / 6:30 p.m. CEST / 12:30 a.m. on July 10 GMT+8

July 10

• Group A: Xtreme Gaming vs. BB Team, Team Falcons vs. Poor Rangers, GamerLegion vs. Rune Eaters — 4 a.m. CT / 11 a.m. CEST / 5 p.m. GMT+8
• Group B: Aurora vs. PlayTime, Team Liquid vs. L1GA Team, Nigma Galaxy vs. Level UP — 6:30 a.m. CT / 1:30 p.m. CEST / 7:30 p.m. GMT+8
• Group C: PVISION vs. MOUZ, Vici Gaming vs. Team Nemesis, Team Spirit vs. REKONIX — 9 a.m. CT / 4 p.m. CEST / 10 p.m. GMT+8
• Group D: Team Yandex vs. LGD Gaming, 1w Team vs. OG, Virtus.pro vs. IC x Insanity — 11:30 a.m. CT / 6:30 p.m. CEST / 12:30 a.m. on July 11 GMT+8

July 11

• Group A: Xtreme Gaming vs. Team Falcons, BB Team vs. GamerLegion, Poor Rangers vs. Rune Eaters — 4 a.m. CT / 11 a.m. CEST / 5 p.m. GMT+8
• Group B: Aurora vs. Team Liquid, PlayTime vs. Nigma Galaxy, L1GA Team vs. Level UP — 6:30 a.m. CT / 1:30 p.m. CEST / 7:30 p.m. GMT+8
• Group C: Team Spirit vs. PVISION, MOUZ vs. Vici Gaming, REKONIX vs. Team Nemesis — 9 a.m. CT / 4 p.m. CEST / 10 p.m. GMT+8
• Group D: 1w Team vs. Team Yandex, OG vs. Virtus.pro, LGD Gaming vs. IC x Insanity — 11:30 a.m. CT / 6:30 p.m. CEST / 12:30 a.m. on July 12 GMT+8

Standings

No matches have finished yet, so every group starts level. The table will change after the July 7 openers.

Teams and qualification

Here is the full field, along with how each squad reached the event.

Prize pool

The champion will take home $750,000 and 1,000 Club Points. Second place gets $340,000 and 750 points, third place gets $200,000 and 500 points, and fourth place gets $120,000 and 300 points. The remaining payouts run from $70,000 for 5th-8th down to $7,500 for 21st-24th.

How to watch

Watch all matches live through the Esports World Cup’s official broadcast channels:

• Twitch
• Twitch 2
• YouTube

Share your thoughts in the comments, and keep up on X, Bluesky, YouTube, and Instagram.

Dota 2

Developed by Valve

Dota 2 is a multiplayer online battle arena video game and the stand-alone sequel to the Defense of the Ancients (DotA) mod. With regular updates that ensure a constant evolution of gameplay, features, and heroes, Dota 2 has taken on a life of its own.

• Genre: Strategy, MOBA
• Platforms: Linux, PC (Microsoft Windows), Mac
• Modes: Multiplayer, Co-operative
• Release: 2013-07-09
• Publisher: Valve
• IGDB Rating: 79.2/100

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