Mortalles shared his prediction for the Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2026 Grand Final

Commentator Dmitry “Mortalles” Arzhilovsky shared his prediction for the Esports World Cup 2026 Dota 2 Grand Final on his personal Telegram channel.
The quote is reproduced with the source’s spelling and punctuation intact
EWC 2026. Final.
PV vs. BB
The first of two major finals we’ll be watching today.
Somehow, we’ve crept up on it without even noticing. I’m not against single-elimination brackets, but I’m more used to double-elimination. More matches, more unexpected results, more intrigue.
But this time, there’s none of that. BB landed an easy bracket, where VG beat the Falcons but didn’t show much against our region. PV steamrolled a Tier 2 team, and the only real test they faced was the series against Yandex.
No matter how you look at it, this final won’t be predictable. PV may be the favorite, but BB plays great in grand finals. For both teams, this trophy would be the biggest in their history.
I just want to see more maps and an exciting final. Objectively speaking, we haven’t even seen ten exciting series in this tournament, and there weren’t even two in the playoffs. This final has a chance to surpass everything that’s come before.
One thing is encouraging: our region has once again proven that right now, it has no equal in the world. Teams from our region swept the entire podium, and at the upcoming TI, we have every right to expect at least two teams in the top 3.
Good luck to the finalists—I’m expecting at least four close maps. I won’t single out a favorite; there isn’t one in this final.
Earlier, former professional player Artem “Fng” Barshak assessed the chances of PARIVISION and BetBoom Team in the Dota 2 Grand Final of the Esports World Cup 2026 and explained why Puppey’s experience could be an advantage for the team.
Photo by Dmitry “Mortalles” Arzhilovsky.


