It took over 200 minutes of action, but Team Liquid pulled off a 2-1 reverse sweep over Xtreme Gaming to stay alive in the Survival Stage.
In a clash between two big names that have struggled so far in the Dota 2 Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026, 
Team Liquid pulled off a drawn-out 2-1 reverse sweep over 
Xtreme Gaming in the first round of the tournament's Survival Stage on Wednesday (15 July).
The match between Liquid and Xtreme could very well end up being the longest of the entire tournament, as it took over 200 minutes of game time for Liquid to emerge victorious. With their triumph over Xtreme, Liquid advance to the second round of the Survival Stage, where they will face off against 
Team Spirit for a spot in the Playoffs.
Meanwhile, Xtreme have been eliminated from the Dota 2 EWC in 13th-16th place and will go home with US$20,000 in consolation.
Xtreme and Liquid struggle in Dota 2 EWC ahead of Survival Stage clash
Liquid and Xtreme were counted among the contenders for the Dota 2 EWC title by virtue of both teams earning a direct invite to The International (TI) 2026. With the Dota 2 EWC being the final tournament before the season culminates in TI 2026 next month, many thought that teams like Xtreme and Liquid would show up in winning form with this year's world championship tournament drawing near.
However, both Liquid and Xtreme struggled mightily in the Dota 2 EWC Group Stage and only managed to earn spots in the Survival Stage.
Liquid entered the Survival Stage as the third seed of Group B with a 6-4 standing. While Liquid looked to be in better form when compared to Xtreme, they still looked shaky at times–especially after getting swept by Group B top seed 
Nigma Galaxy.
Meanwhile, Xtreme finished the Group Stage as the fourth seed of Group A with a measly 4-6 record. They notably lost all of their matches against the group's Top 2 teams in 
Team Falcons and 
BetBoom Team and were forced to 1-1 draws by weaker opponents in 
Rune Eaters and Poor Rangers, with their only 2-0 win coming against
GamerLegion.
Xtreme outlast Liquid to advance to the next round of the Survival Stage
Liquid opened the series with a highly mobile and hard-hitting lineup of core heroes, with 
Micke “miCKe” Vu on Shadow Fiend, 
Michał “Nisha” Jankowski on Ember Spirit, and 
Marcus “Ace” Hoelgaard on Centaur Warrunner. Samuel “Boxi” Svahn on Clockwerk provided long-range inititation while 
Erik “tOfu” Engel on Witch Doctor brought sustain and strong teamfight abilities.
Xtreme, on the other hand, went for overwhelming teamfight damage with 
Wang “Ame” Chunyu on Clinkz, 
Cheng “NothingToSay” Jin Xiang on Earthshaker, Jing “Xxs” Lin on Earthshaker, Xu “fy” Linsen on Hoodwink, and Jian Wei “xNova-” Yap on Winter Wyvern.
Game one was a rollercoaster, with Xtreme winning the laning stage and the ensuing mid game teamfights. However, Liquid were able to wrest control away from their opponents by getting the jump on them in clashes around key objectives. Both sides then continued trading teamfights wins as the game ticked past the hour-mark, but the chaos of late game clashes ended up playing into the hands of Xtreme. While Liquid were able to isolate Ame's Clinkz, that left them vulnerable to Echo Slams from NothingToSay that eventually allowed Xtreme to take the opening game of the series after 69 minutes.
Ame paced Xtreme's 49-31 kill lead in game one with 20 kills and 10 assists on eight deaths while NothingToSay added 13 kills and 26 assists on a game-best four deaths.
Liquid looked to strike back in game two with a powerful mid game lineup led by miCKe's Alchemist, Nisha's Necrophos, and Ace's Dark Seer. Boxi was given Clockwerk once again while Tofu was shifted over to the support Mirana. Meanwhile, Xtreme picked Clinkz for Ame again then paired it with Sand King for NothingToSay and Centaur Warrunner for Xxs. Bringing up the rear were fy's Dark Willow and xNova's Ringmaster.
Thanks to a better showing in the laning stage and the extra net worth naturally accumulated by Alchemist, Liquid were able to take the gold lead early and hold onto it until the game ended. But that end would come much later than one would expect from a team with such a mid game-focused draft.
Liquid's overwhelming damage and sustain in teamfights proved too much for Xtreme to overcome when outside their base. However, Liquid themselves struggled to break into their opponents' high ground as they couldn't tank through the area-of-effect damage from Clinkz and Sand King in the choke points around the base objectives.
Liquid resorted to making good use of their Alchemist pick to simply outscale their opponents, with Tofu's Mirana notably playing a pivotal role in Liquid eventually taking the ultra late game win. Tofu made good use of his hero's Aghanim's Scepter-upgraded Sacred Arrows to wreak havoc on Xtreme's heroes in the chaotic clashes, helping Liquid force the series to a deciding game three after a whopping 93 minutes of action.
Xtreme seemed gassed from their game two loss, as they didn't put up much of a fight in game three. Liquid completed the 2-1 reverse sweep in a 41-minute stomp where they finished with a lopsided 33-8 kill lead. Ace on Timbersaw led the way in the closeout with 11 kills and 10 assists on just one death.
What is the Dota 2 Esports World Cup?
The Dota 2 tournament at the Esports World Cup 2026 will be the last Tier 1 tournament of the 2025-2026 competitive Dota 2 season, before it culminates in The International 2026 in August. With many of the teams competing in the EWC also qualified for this year's Dota 2 world championship tournament, it should serve as a good preview for the battle for the Aegis of Champions next month.
The Dota 2 EWC features 24 of the best Dota 2 teams in the world and will take place from 7 to 19 July in the Paris Expo Porte de Versailles in Paris, France. The teams will be fighting for EWC glory and the lion's share of US$750,000, out of the tournament's US$25 million prize pool.
The Dota 2 EWC is split into three stages; the Group Stage from 7 to 12 July, the Survival Stage from 14 to 15 July, and the Playoffs from 16 to 19 July.
The Group Stage will see the 24 teams split into four groups of six teams each to play in a single round-robin with best-of-two matches. The top team from each group will advance directly to the Playoffs, the second to fourth-placed teams will move to the Survival Stage, while the two bottom finishers will be among the first to be eliminated.
The Survival Stage will feature the 12 teams that finished third to fourth in their respective groups during the Group Stage, with four spots in the Playoffs up for grabs in a single-elimination bracket with best-of-three matches. The Survival Stage will open with the third and fourth seeds from different groups taking each other on, with the winners moving on to face the second place teams for the four Playoff spots.
Finally, the Playoffs will be a single-elimination bracket featuring the four teams that finished as the top seeds of their groups in the Group Stage, as well as the four teams that made it out of the Survival Stage. All matches in the Playoffs will be a best-of-three except for the grand finals, which will be a full best-of-five series.
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