PVISION too strong as Rune Eaters' dream run comes to an end

PVISION's remarkable form at the Esports World Cup 2026 continued uninterrupted on Thursday as the DreamLeague Season 29 champions swept Rune Eaters 2-0 to reach the semifinals. They dropped just one game throughout the group stage before bypassing the Survival Stage, and on Thursday they showed exactly why many consider them the team to beat in Paris.

It was a matchup that felt like David versus Goliath. On one side stood PVISION, arguably the tournament's most dominant and favorite. On the other was Rune Eaters, the tournament's surprise team, whose back-to-back eliminations of Virtus.pro and Aurora Gaming had transformed them into one of the event's bigger stories.

Unfortunately for the underdogs, the fairytale ended here.

PVISION leave no room for hope

The opening game remained competitive through the early stages, but once the match entered the mid game, PVISION squeezed every inch of the map away from Rune Eaters. Superior drafting translated into cleaner execution, and every fight seemed to favor PVISION as Rune Eaters struggled to find the gameplay that had carried them through the Survival Stage. What began as an even contest quickly turned into a one-sided affair.

Game 2 proved even more decisive. PVISION dictated the pace from the opening minutes, completely controlling the map while Satanic ran away with the game before Rune Eaters could establish any meaningful foothold. PVISION looked a level above throughout the series and it was exactly the type of performance many expected from the team.

Few expected Rune Eaters to survive the group stage, let alone eliminate both Virtus.pro and Aurora Gaming on consecutive days for survival. Their journey ultimately concludes with a top-eight finish and $70,000 in prize money, comfortably surpassing predictions and announcing themselves on one of the biggest stages of the season.

PVISION, meanwhile, continues to strengthen their claim as the favorites to lift the Esports World Cup trophy.

The playoffs continue on Friday with two more quarterfinals. Team Falcons will face Vici Gaming at 13:00 CEST before Nigma Galaxy take on BetBoom Team later in the day, with the final two semifinal places up for grabs.