Team Yandex defeat Team Liquid to win PGL Wallachia Season 7

Team Yandex claimed victory at Wallachia by denying Team Liquid a reverse sweep in the grand finals.

Rising Eastern European Dota 2 powerhouse Team Yandex have been crowned as champions of PGL Wallachia Season 7 after they defeated Western Europe'sTeam Liquid, 3-0, in the tournament's grand finals on Monday (16 March).

With their victory, Yandex claimed the grand prize of US$300,000 out of PGL Wallachia Season 7's US$1 million prize pool. This also marks their second Tier 1 tournament title following their first at DreamLeague Season 27 last December. Yandex notably claimed victory at Wallachia without their full roster, as Evgeniy “Noticed” Ignatenko was forced to sit out the event due to visa issues and Dmitry “DM” Dorokhin was called up to be his stand-in.

Meanwhile, Liquid settle for second place and US$175,000 in consolation after a grueling final day in the tournament that unfortunately ended in disappointment. They played eight games across two matches for a total game time of seven hours and 55 minutes.

While Liquid fall short of claiming their second title of the 2025-2026 competitive season to add to their victory in BLAST Slam VI last month, they still maintain their solid form to start the season by logging their seventh Top 4 finish in tournaments so far.

Team Yandex dominate PGL Wallachia Season 7 to claim second tournament title

Yandex and Liquid were among the eight teams to claim a Playoff spot in PGL Wallachia Season 7 out of the 16-strong field in the tournament's Group Stage. While Yandex would eventually take the championship, Liquid were the ones to first establish themselves as favourites with a perfect 3-0 run through the Group Stage with victories over BetBoom Team, Vici Gaming, and PARIVISION.

Yandex advanced to the Playoffs with a solid 3-1 record despite a slow start to the tournament as DM found his footing with the team. Round one of the Group Stage saw Yandex get swept by HEROIC, though the Eastern European powerhouse were quick to bounce back with three straight victories over MOUZ, Team Falcons, and PARIVISION.

The first round of the Playoffs then saw the eventual grand finalists dispatch their respective opponents in three games apiece. Yandex defeated regional rivals Aurora Gaming while Liquid pulled off a reverse-sweep over an undermanned Tundra Esports. That then set up the first clash between Yandex and Liquid in the upper bracket semifinals.

While many pegged Liquid as the clear favourites in the upper bracket semifinals, Yandex upended all expectations with a 2-0 sweep. Yandex then carried their momentum to the upper bracket finals, where they scored another sweep over BetBoom to become the first team in the PGL Wallachia Season 7 grand finals.

After their loss to Yandex, Liquid were forced to fight their way through the lower bracket. They first swept HEROIC in the lower bracket quarterfinals then took down Team Spirit in the lower bracket semifinals, which earned them a spot in the lower bracket finals against BetBoom to start the last day of the tournament. Liquid then outlasted BetBoom in a grueling best-of-three series that lasted a total of 225 minutes of action to earn a rematch with Yandex in the grand finals.

Liquid seemed gassed by their lower bracket finals clash against BetBoom, as they barely put up a fight in the championship round. Yandex opened the grand finals with a comfortable 36-minute win where they finished with double their opponents' kill count at 32-16. Ilya “CHIRA_JUNIOR” Chirtsov on Ember Spirit paced his team's opening win with 11 kills and 12 assists while DM on Largo added eight kills and 15 assists, with both players also giving up just one death apiece.

Game two turned out to be even more one-sided, as Yandex took a commanding 2-0 series lead by stomping Liquid in 37 minutes to the tune of a lopsided 43-7 kill score. Alimzhan “Watson” Islambekov on Ursa showed out with 18 kills and 10 assists on just one death.

With their backs against the wall in game three, Liquid finally showed signs of life by outlasting Yandex in a 62-minute slugfest to claim their first win of the series. Micke “miCKe” Vu on Windranger paced his team's 42-30 kill lead in that hard-fought barn burner with a stellar 19-kill, 11-assist, three-death performance.

Game four then saw Liquid give Yandex a taste of their own medicine, as they forced the grand finals to a deciding game five with a 34-minute stomp. Liquid racked up 34 kills and conceded just one death before Yandex called GG, with miCKe on Windranger and Michał “Nisha” Jankowski on Huskar leading the way with six kills apiece on zero deaths.

With the trophy on the line in game five, both teams clashed in a 56-minute rollercoaster that fittingly proved to be the closest game of the grand finals. Shaking off their previous two losses, Yandex methodically broke down a valiant last stand from Liquid in a chaotic late game to claim the championship.

Ilya “CHIRA_JUNIOR” Chirtsov on Invoker showed out in the closeout game, pacing his team's final 42-21 kill score with 13 kills and 22 assists against five deaths. Watson on Luna also had a dominant showing with eight kills and 25 assists on just one death while DM ended his stand-in stint with a commendable 10 kills and 26 assists against four deaths as Bristleback.