PARIVISION defeat Team Yandex to advance to the Dota 2 Esports World Cup grand finals

In a clash of tournament favourites that some considered to be the tournament's real grand finals, PARIVISION defeated Team Yandex.

Eastern European Dota 2 juggernauts PARIVISION became the second team to advance to the grand finals of the Dota 2 Esports World Cup (EWC) 2026 after they outlasted regional rivals Team Yandex, 2-1, in the semifinals. 

PARIVISION are now set to face another regional rival in BetBoom Team, who defeated China's Vici Gaming in the other semifinal match, in the Dota 2 EWC's best-of-five grand finals on Sunday (19 July). At stake will be the penultimate Tier 1 championship of the season and the lion's share of US$750,000 out of the Dota 2 EWC's US$2 million prize pool.

Claiming the Dota 2 EWC championship will hand PARIVISION their second Tier 1 tournament title this season after their first from DreamLeague Season 29 in May. More importantly, victory here will cement PARIVISION's position as the biggest favourites to claim the Aegis of Champions when the season concludes in The International 2026 next month.

Meanwhile, Yandex drop to the third place match, where they will face off against Vici Gaming ahead of the grand finals. 

PARIVISION and Team Yandex dominate Dota 2 EWC ahead of semifinals showdown

Both PARIVISION and Yandex entered the Dota 2 EWC as the two biggest favourites to claim the title, and they proved such notions correct with dominant runs through the tournament before they clashed in the semifinals.

In the Group Stage, PARIVISION finished as the top seed of Group C with a 9-1 record. They enjoyed a perfect 8-0 record through the first four days of the Group Stage, sweeping the likes of Vici Gaming, MOUZ, REKONIX, and Team Nemesis. While PARIVISION suffered their only loss of the Group Stage in a 1-1 draw against defending champions Team Spirit, they still earned a direct berth to the Playoffs.

Yandex, on the other hand, were the top dogs of Group D also with a 9-1 record. While they were forced to a 1-1 draw by OG in their first match of the Group Stage, they swept all of their remaining matches against IC x Insanity, Virtus.pro, LGD Gaming, and 1w Team. Yandex also advanced directly to the Playoffs for topping their group.

With at least a four-day gap between the end of the Group Stage and the start of the Playoffs, there were concerns that the top seeds of the Group Stage would accumulate rust during their lengthy break while the teams that had to go through the Survival Stage were able to stay in shape. 

While those concerns were given credence to by Team Falcons and Nigma Galaxy losing in the quarterfinals, PARIVISION and Yandex still looked to be in peak form in the Playoffs. PARIVISION opened their Playoff campaign by ending Rune Eaters Esports' Cinderella Run, while Yandex soundly swept Spirit and crushed their hopes to repeat as Dota 2 EWC champions.

That then set up a highly-anticipated showdown between the two biggest favourites to claim the Dota 2 EWC in the semifinals. PARIVISION came out swinging and comfortably took the first game of the series in 31 minutes. Yandex were then able to grind out a 63-minute win in game two to force the series to a decider. However, the match ended in anticlimactic fashion as PARIVISION dominated Yandex in 37 minutes to secure their spot in the grand finals.

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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