Patryk Stachowiak
Team Spirit defends the crown against a stacked EPT invite list and a wave of regional qualifiers spanning seven regions and five continents.
The lineup is locked. Twenty-four teams, 120 players, and one $2M trophy waiting in Paris. The Esports World Cup 2026 Dota 2 field mixes the ESL Pro Tour’s elite with qualifier squads that battled out of Europe, China, Southeast Asia, the Americas, and MESWA — and at the head of it all sits a defending champion with its title-winning core intact. Here’s every team and every roster you need to know.
The Champion Returns: Team Spirit
Team Spirit walk into Paris as EWC title defenders, and they do it with the spine of their dynasty unchanged. Yatoro — one of the most decorated carries of his generation — still leads the charge alongside midlaner Larl and the ever-explosive offlaner Collapse. When a team this pedigreed enters as the reigning champion, the entire bracket recalibrates around it.
| Player | Country | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Yatoro | Ukraine | 1 |
| Larl | Russia | 2 |
| Collapse | Russia | 3 |
| not me | Russia | 4 |
| rue | Russia | 5 |
The EPT Invites: Twelve Seeds Earned on the Leaderboard
Beyond the champion, twelve teams punched their tickets through the ESL Pro Tour standings — the season-long ranking that rewards consistency over a single hot weekend. This is the tournament’s proven core, and it’s loaded.
1w — EPT #1
Topping the leaderboard, 1w field an international roster built around carry Pure and Bulgarian mid bzm, with veteran 33 anchoring the offlane.
| Player | Country | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Pure | Russia | 1 |
| bzm | Bulgaria | 2 |
| 33 | Israel | 3 |
| Ari | United Kingdom | 4 |
| Whitemon | Indonesia | 5 |
PARIVISION — EPT #2
A co-favourite on the odds board, PARIVISION blend youth and experience, with No[o]ne- and support veteran Dukalis among the standouts.
| Player | Country | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Satanic | Russia | 1 |
| No[o]ne- | Ukraine | 2 |
| Noticed | Russia | 3 |
| 9Class | Russia | 4 |
| Dukalis | Russia | 5 |
Aurora Gaming — EPT #3
A genuinely pan-regional squad, Aurora Gaming stitch together talent from Russia, Southeast Asia, and Ukraine around carry Nightfall.
| Player | Country | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Nightfall | Russia | 1 |
| Mikoto | Indonesia | 2 |
| Ws | Malaysia | 3 |
| Mira | Ukraine | 4 |
| kaori | Ukraine | 5 |
Xtreme Gaming — EPT #4
China’s flag-bearer among the invites, Xtreme Gaming headline with the legendary carry Ame and mid maestro NothingToSay.
| Player | Country | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Ame | China | 1 |
| NothingToSay | Malaysia | 2 |
| Xxs | China | 3 |
| fy | China | 4 |
| xNova | Malaysia | 5 |
Team Yandex — EPT #5
The other 4.8 co-favourite, Team Yandex pair Kazakh carry watson with the seasoned support duo of Saksa and Malady.
| Player | Country | Position |
|---|---|---|
| watson | Kazakhstan | 1 |
| CHIRA_JUNIOR | Russia | 2 |
| DM | Russia | 3 |
| Saksa | North Macedonia | 4 |
| Malady | Kazakhstan | 5 |
Team Falcons — EPT #7
A true super-team on paper, Team Falcons boast carry skiter, offlaner ATF, and the veteran Western support pairing of Cr1t- and Sneyking.
| Player | Country | Position |
|---|---|---|
| skiter | Slovakia | 1 |
| Malr1ne | Russia | 2 |
| ATF | Jordan | 3 |
| Cr1t- | Denmark | 4 |
| Sneyking | United States | 5 |
Team Liquid — EPT #8
Western Europe’s flagship, Team Liquid run it back with mid star Nisha and offlaner Ace at the heart of the roster.
| Player | Country | Position |
|---|---|---|
| m1CKe | Sweden | 1 |
| Nisha | Poland | 2 |
| Ace | Denmark | 3 |
| Boxi | Sweden | 4 |
| tOfu | Germany | 5 |
BetBoom Team — EPT #9
An all-CIS lineup with real firepower, BetBoom Team are led by mid gpk~ and captain Kataomi`.
| Player | Country | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Kiritych~ | Russia | 1 |
| gpk~ | Russia | 2 |
| MieRo | Russia | 3 |
| Save- | Moldova | 4 |
| Kataomi` | Russia | 5 |
MOUZ — EPT #10
A melting-pot roster, MOUZ feature SEA legend MidOne in the mid lane alongside carry Crystallis.
| Player | Country | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Crystallis | Netherlands | 1 |
| MidOne | Malaysia | 2 |
| BOOM | Czechia | 3 |
| yamich | Russia | 4 |
| panto | Belarus | 5 |
PlayTime — EPT #11
The tournament’s all-Peruvian story, PlayTime carry the South American flag with a fully homegrown five.
| Player | Country | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Wits | Peru | 1 |
| DarkMago | Peru | 2 |
| Frank | Peru | 3 |
| Scofield | Peru | 4 |
| Elmisho | Peru | 5 |
OG — EPT #12
Now an all-Filipino project, OG roll out a SEA-built roster fronted by carry Natsumi and the experienced Raven and TIMS.
| Player | Country | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Natsumi | Philippines | 1 |
| Yopaj | Philippines | 2 |
| Raven | Philippines | 3 |
| TIMS | Philippines | 4 |
| skem | Philippines | 5 |
Virtus.pro — EPT #13
Heritage runs deep here. Virtus.pro pair veteran carry Timado with SEA icon Abed and the seasoned support Fly.
| Player | Country | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Timado | Peru | 1 |
| Abed | Philippines | 2 |
| SaberLight | Czechia | 3 |
| Hellscream | Belarus | 4 |
| Fly | Israel | 5 |
The Qualifiers: Eleven Teams Who Earned Their Ticket the Hard Way
The remaining slots came through regional qualifiers spanning seven regions — the underdog engine of any world championship.
Western Europe
LGD Gaming topped the WEU qualifier with a Latin-American-flavoured roster, while Rune Eaters grabbed the second slot behind captain Darklord^.
| Team | Seed | Roster |
|---|---|---|
| LGD Gaming | WEU #1 | Yuma (NIC), TaiLung (PER), Wisper (BOL), Thiolicor (BRA), KJ (BRA) |
| Rune Eaters | WEU #2 | Darklord^ (UKR), Copy (GER), Malik (KAZ), Ekki (POL), aik (KAZ) |
Eastern Europe
The deepest qualifier region sent four teams, split across two seeding brackets.
| Team | Seed | Roster |
|---|---|---|
| Level UP | EEU #1–2 | WoE (RUS), Ainkrad (BLR), bb3px (RUS), queezy (RUS), Htrd (RUS) |
| Poor Rangers | EEU #1–2 | TA2000 (KAZ), Nicky`Cool (KAZ), alberkaaa (RUS), Immersion (RUS), Hduo (RUS) |
| L1 TEAM | EEU #3–4 | ssnovv1 (RUS), Mirage` (KAZ), Vazya (RUS), Zayac (KGZ), RESPECT (BLR) |
| IC x Insanity | EEU #3–4 | 423 (MNG), Stojkov (MKD), laise (UKR), Fernans (UKR), Se (MNG) |
Asia and the Americas
Five more regions each sent their champion, from China’s Vici Gaming to Indonesia’s all-local REKONIX.
| Team | Region seed | Roster |
|---|---|---|
| Vici Gaming | China #1 | shiro, Xm, Bach, XinQ, y` (all China) |
| REKONIX | SEA #1 | Jikroy, inYourdreaM, Fbz, dalul, Varizh (all Indonesia) |
| GamerLegion | North America #1 | Ghost (MYS), RCY (USA), Fayde (USA), Bignum (UKR), Speeed (USA) |
| Team Nemesis | South America #1 | rubikon155 (MDA), 4nalog (BRA), Jabz (THA), Lelis (BRA), Yamsun (USA) |
| Nigma Galaxy | MESWA #1 | SumaiL (PAK), lorenof (UKR), Davai (BEL), OmaR (LBN), GH (LBN) |
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Storylines Hiding in the Rosters
A field this deep is really a collection of subplots. Nigma Galaxy bring one of the great narratives with TI-winning duo SumaiL and GH reunited in the MESWA slot. PlayTime and OG offer pure regional pride — one all-Peruvian, one all-Filipino — the kind of unified rosters that ride crowd energy deep into brackets. And in Team Falcons, Virtus.pro, and 1w, you’ve got veteran cores who’ve traded blows across ESL One and DreamLeague circuits for years, now colliding again with a world title at stake.
The geographic spread tells its own story: the top of the bracket leans heavily CIS and Eastern European, but the qualifier list drags in talent from Nicaragua to Mongolia to Lebanon. This is a genuine world championship in makeup, not just in name.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many teams are competing?
24 — thirteen direct entrants (the defending champion plus twelve EPT invites) and eleven regional qualifiers.
Who is the defending champion?
Team Spirit, entering as EWC title defenders with Yatoro, Larl, and Collapse still at the core.
Which teams came through the EPT leaderboard?
1w, PARIVISION, Aurora Gaming, Xtreme Gaming, Team Yandex, Team Falcons, Team Liquid, BetBoom Team, MOUZ, PlayTime, OG, and Virtus.pro.
Which regions had qualifiers?
Western Europe, Eastern Europe, China, Southeast Asia, North America, South America, and MESWA.
Are there any all-regional rosters?
Yes — PlayTime field an all-Peruvian five, OG an all-Filipino lineup, REKONIX an all-Indonesian squad, and Vici Gaming an all-Chinese roster.
The Bigger Picture
Twenty-four teams, seven regions, and a spread of talent that runs from decorated TI champions to qualifier upstarts hungry for a breakout — the Esports World Cup 2026 Dota 2 field is built for chaos in the best way. Team Spirit set the bar as defending champions, but with the top of the odds board this tightly packed and rosters this deep, Paris is anyone’s to seize. When the group stage draws land and these lineups finally face off, the storylines buried in these rosters will start writing themselves — and one of these 120 players will walk out of Paris a world champion.