Team Spirit continue their quest to defend the Dota 2 EWC title, outclassing Team Liquid to secure a Playoff berth.
A Survival Stage clash between two Dota 2 giants culminated in a convincing victory for defending champions 
Team Spirit, as they took down 
Team Liquid, 2-1, to advance to the Dota 2 Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 Playoffs.
It was one of the most explosive showdowns of the tournament so far, bringing together the only two teams to have won The International (TI) twice. Both sides shared a similar pedigree and entered the matchup with almost identical expectations, as both teams had endured equally rocky campaigns throughout the season.
However, in this inevitable decider at the Dota 2 EWC, one team had to fall, and Team Spirit refused to be the one left behind. Both teams put everything on the line, showcasing relentless aggression throughout all three maps, though Team Spirit proved to be the superior side for the majority of the series. In traditional Spirit fashion, the team seemed to be peaking just in time for the landmark period, further bolstered by the return of 
Yaroslav “Miposhka” Naidenov, who is now coaching the team.
With this result, the reigning Dota 2 EWC champions confidently march on to the Playoffs, joining
Nigma Galaxy, 
Team Falcons, 
PARIVISION, 
Team Yandex and 
Rune Eaters Esports–who had just upset 
Aurora Gaming in the Survival Stage. This development guarantees Spirit at least a Top 8 finish, though a team of their calibre will not be satisfied with stopping there, especially as Spirit boast a strong track record in previous Dota 2 EWC iterations.
Team Liquid, meanwhile, exit the tournament with a disappointing 9th–12th place finish and US$40,000 in consolation. The team will now look to regroup ahead of The International (TI) 2026 next month, where they will enter as one of the seven invited teams.
A different route for Team Liquid and Team Spirit at the Dota 2 EWC
During the Group Stage last week, Team Liquid and Team Spirit showcased slightly different campaigns, with the Eastern European side securing the stronger starting result.
Team Liquid were placed in Group B, which, in hindsight, appeared to be a relatively favourable draw, with Aurora Gaming being the only clear heavyweight opponent. However, Liquid were caught off guard by a resurgent Nigma Galaxy, who went on to top the group. Liquid had lost their series against Nigma, and dropped a map to both PlayTime and Aurora. But a clean sweep against underdogs 
Level UP kept Liquid alive in the tournament, allowing them to narrowly hold onto third place and secure a spot in the first round of the Survival Stage.
Over in Group C, Team Spirit had a better run. The team’s biggest challenge came from PARIVISION, against whom they held their ground with a draw. However, Team Spirit were set back in the Group Stage standings after conceding a map to 
MOUZ earlier in the competition, ultimately finishing second in the group. This meant Spirit missed out on a direct Playoff berth but were comfortably placed in the final round of the Survival Stage.
Before the two sides clashed, Team Liquid first had to overcome 
Xtreme Gaming in the opening round of the Survival Stage. While their previous series was an intense battle in their favour, this time around, Team Liquid found themselves on the shorter end of the stick.
How Team Spirit eliminated Team Liquid from the Dota 2 EWC
The first game was a walk in the park for Spirit, with Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov’s Pangolier proving to be a constant nuisance while Denis “Larl” Sigitov’s Lina made timely rotations to stabilise vulnerable lanes. The early advantage quickly spiralled out of control as Spirit claimed back-to-back skirmishes.
Throughout the game, Liquid’s lineup–including 
Erik “tOfu” Engel’s Mirana, 
Marcus “Ace” Hoelgaard’s Necrophos, and 
Michał “Nisha” Jankowski’s Invoker–struggled to make an impact, as Spirit comfortably outperformed the team with what appeared to be an outdraft.
Despite the immense shellacking, Liquid refused to go down without a fight. The team repeatedly looked for initiations and game-changing team fights, and while they found some success here and there, Spirit were simply too far ahead, snowballing with ease to close out the opening game.
However, the next two games unfolded very differently from the opening-map stomp. In game two, 
Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk picked up his signature Morphling, while Liquid responded with 
Micke “miCKe” Vu's Spectre paired alongside tOfu’s Witch Doctor.
From the start, both teams played aggressively, trading kills across the map–but more often than not, Spirit came out ahead in these exchanges. One of the biggest highlights of their team fights was their flawless execution of chain stuns, with Larl’s Monkey King, Collapse’s Tidehunter, and Aleksandr “rue” Filin’s Clockwerk combining their spells perfectly to shut down Nisha’s Ember Spirit and the rest of Liquid’s lineup.
However, by the 40-minute mark, Liquid had assembled the tools needed to turn the tide, with a heavily farmed Spectre and a Nullifier in hand. Their arsenal was enough to break through Tidehunter’s defences and halt Yatoro’s Morphling’s momentum. Once Liquid eliminated several Spirit heroes inside their base, they immediately turned towards the Tier 4 towers and completed the comeback at the 45-minute mark.
The third game was another intense affair, with Spirit’s stacked support duo once again delivering standout performances. Rue’s Bane was the catalyst behind numerous successful pick-offs, including multiple catches on the elusive Nisha’s Puck. Alexey “not me” Kosmynin’s Ringmaster, as with the previous games, was near flawless in spell execution, often fearlessly throwing himself into enemy lines to create openings for his team.
Liquid, too, had their fair share of favourable exchanges, particularly with tOfu’s Oracle providing crucial saves and sustain to keep fights alive and empower miCKe’s Alchemist.
During a late-game Roshan contest, both teams poked and prodded at each other, waiting for the opposing side to make the first move, creating a tense standoff. The stalemate was eventually broken when Collapse’s Centaur Warrunner found Oracle in the backline, zoning most of Liquid away from their Alchemist, who was quickly brought down. That decisive fight shaped the remainder of the game, allowing a dominant Spirit to close out the third map right in front of Liquid’s base.
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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