Talon Esports and Aurora Gaming secure direct invites to Esports World Cup

Nine teams got a direct invite to the $3,000,000 Riyadh Masters 2025, the Dota 2 competition at Esports World Cup this year.

Aurora and Talon were the last two to be added to the invite list after securing enough points to make it to the top 8 on the ESL Pro Tour (EPT) ladder. Both needed at least a top 4 finish at the ongoing DreamLeague Season 26, the last tournament on the EPT schedule before Esports World Cup.

Both teams had an underwhelming season. Neither placed in the top 4 at any of this year’s Tier 1 tournaments, and that has already cost them a direct invite to The International 2025. Qualifying now for EWC would give them the time to focus on the TI qualifiers, which will commence at the start of June.

Despite their poor form so far in the season, Aurora and Talon found their stride when it mattered the most. Aurora had a great tournament start at DreamLeague S26, placing first in Group A in the first round of group stage matches. Talon came in third in Group B, which was enough to advance to the second group stage.

Four teams fighting for a spot at EWC

The next leg of the competition became a bit more complicated as Group Stage 2 also featured Nigma Galaxy and Yakult Brothers fighting for a top 4 placement, which could have qualified them to EWC instead. Nigma and Yakult finished second in their respective groups; however, once they reached the second group stage, their gameplay was already figured out by the other teams, and they found themselves outplayed by both Talon and Aurora.

A reinvigorated Talon Esports

DreamLeague Season 26 marks the first tournament of the season for Talon with Nuengnara "23savage" Teeramahanon in the carry role. He returned to Southeast Asia on loan from OG on May 10, 2025, with high hopes of making it to the two biggest events of the year, TI and EWC.

So far, it seems like his return to Talon works wonders. With little to no time to practice for DreamLeague S26, Talon have already achieved their best placement of the season by securing a top 4 finish. They fell short of a top 3 finish after losing a tiebreaker series with BetBoom Team. Thus, they will start the playoffs stage in the lower bracket.

At the same time, this season of DreamLeague also brings the best placement for Aurora this year. From here on, only one will secure a top 3 finish as Aurora and Talon will open the playoffs stage with a duel in the lower bracket.