Grayne shared his predictions for the Dota 2 survival stage of the Esports World Cup 2026
Commentator Anton “Grayne” Afanasenko posted his predictions for the survival stage of the 2026 Esports World Cup in Dota 2 on Telegram.
The quote is reproduced with the source’s spelling and punctuation intact
The group stage is over, the underdogs have been eliminated—now it’s time to weed out the rest! It’s a cool format where you know right away who you’ll be facing after the Survival (Last Chance) stage.
LGD vs. Mouz -> Winner vs. BB -> Winner vs. Nigma Galaxy in the playoffs
VG vs. PT -> Winner vs. 1w -> Winner vs. Falcons in the playoffs
Liquid vs. Xtreme -> Winner vs. Spirit -> Winner vs. Yandex in the playoffs
Rune vs. VP -> Winner vs. Aurora -> Winner vs. PV in the playoffs
An easy ride to the playoffs for BB, 1w, and Aurora. Spirit was incredibly unlucky. Liquid arrived in rough shape, but once they figured out how to play Dota, it suddenly turned out that all the meta heroes were the team’s strong suits. In short, it’ll be tough, but that just makes it even more interesting.
The survival stage of the Dota 2 tournament at the Esports World Cup 2026 will take place on July 14 and 15; as a result, eight teams will be eliminated, and four will advance to the playoffs. The event’s prize pool is $2 million.
Photo by Anton “Grayne” Afanasenko.
