PGL Wallachia Season 9 reveals 16 teams, but it’s not what you expected

PGL Wallachia Season 9 was quietly pushed to September 19 as the post-TI shuffle leaves the $1M LAN scrambling for teams.
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PGL Wallachia Season 9 was supposed to be the first real look at the new Dota 2 landscape following TI 2026. Instead, it’s become a cautionary tale about the compressed calendar between The International and the start of the next competitive season. With rosters still in flux and visa timelines tight, PGL reportedly shifted from an invitation-only model to an open application system to fill its slots, but even so the tournament has hit a snag before it even began.

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Originally scheduled to kick off on September 17, the start date was quietly pushed to September 19. The tournament will still run through September 27 at the PGL Studios in Bucharest, Romania, with no live audience and a $1,000,000 prize pool on the line.

PGL Wallachia S9 participating teams

  • 1win
  • Team Yandex
  • Aurora Gaming
  • Natus Vincere
  • LGD Gaming
  • Xtreme Gaming
  • Mouz
  • Conventus Stellarum
  • GamerLegion
  • Hokori
  • Pibbles Corp.
  • Pipsqueak+4
  • PlayTime
  • Team Cobra
  • Nemesis
  • Yakult Brothers

While all teams’ rosters are unconfirmed as the post-TI shuffle is still ongoing, some of the tier one organisations are skipping this first tournament of the season entirely. Notable absences include BetBoom Team, Team Spirit, Team Liquid and PARIVISION.

Tournament format

The tournament will follow the established Wallachia format: a modified Swiss-system group stage with all matches played as best-of-three, followed by a double-elimination playoff bracket. The top eight teams advance, while the bottom eight are eliminated. The Grand Final will be a best-of-five affair. The $1,000,000 prize pool is distributed with $300,000 going to the champion, $175,000 to the runner-up, and payouts scaling down to $10,000 for the last-place finishers.

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