Mortalles shared his predictions for the first day of the group stage of the 2026 Esports World Cup in Dota 2

The 2026 Esports World Cup starts in an hour. It’s one of the two major tournaments of the year.

There are an unusually large number of participants, but the format is also much more interesting this time around. No pointless 16-team groups—just a cutthroat group stage where two teams from each group will be eliminated immediately, and only one will advance directly to the playoffs.

If you look at each group, it’s easy to see that there are several contenders for the top spots. At least two, if not three. There’s no time to get complacent, and the favorites simply can’t afford to drop points against weaker teams.
And the best-of-2 format means points will inevitably be lost. It’s even hard to say which of the favorites will make it out of the group stage without dropping a single point.

The schedule is very simple. Three streams = three parallel matches within a single group. Some players might not be comfortable playing during the day, but they can adjust—everyone had plenty of time to prepare.

Contrary to all predictions, the visa process went smoothly this time, which means we’re in for top-tier competition (let’s hope so?).

At first glance, it seems like Xtreme Gaming should handle Rune Eaters. But for the Chinese team to get off to a perfect start in a best-of-2 format? That sounds like nonsense. On the other hand, if they don’t beat RE, what then? They’ll have absolutely no chance of taking first place in the group.

Nigma and Aurora should easily win their matches. Aurora is a legitimate contender for the tournament’s top 3, and Nigma has been making roster changes ahead of the year’s major tournaments. These are suitable opponents for their opening matches.

In Group C, we’re expecting a decisive victory for PV first and foremost.
Team Spirit should also win their match; Mouz would only stand a chance of winning if they employed completely absurd strategies. But I don’t want to think about that just yet.
I hope the Chinese team VG will pull it off as well, but skipping this match wouldn’t be a mistake.

Well, this is the strongest group, with only one clear weak link. All the other teams feature superstars, and three of them are very much in contention for the tournament’s top 3. Yandex, of course, is the frontrunner among them. They’re the most consistent team and a suitable opponent for the first match. Let me remind you: OG won the TI qualifiers, even though the field there was pretty mediocre. I think they’re capable of taking maps later on, but not today.

My personal favorite, LGD, will take down VP today. At least that’s what I’m hoping for. Right now, these are teams on different levels, and I only see a chance for VP if LGD drafts poorly. Anyone who’s watched their matches with my commentary knows what I mean. But before the drafts, it’s 2-0.

I didn’t get into the other matches. Although I do consider BetBoom Team, GamerLegion, and Team Liquid to be the favorites in their matchups. The first series is definitely just for watching, and Liquid are playing against Playtime, who won’t make it to the Int, which means they’ll be giving it their all at the EWC just like last time.