Esports World Cup 2025 group stage: Who will dominate?

Dota 2 at the highest level of competition is on the menu for the next two weeks. The Esports World Cup (EWC) with its $3,000,000 prize pool will kick off this Tuesday, July 8, with the group stage and will come to a close on the 19th of the month with the grand finals.

However, before the grand finals, a long road lies ahead for the 16 teams aligned at the start of the competition. EWC features three tournament stages: a group stage followed by an elimination gauntlet bracket, and it will culminate with a single elimination playoff bracket.

Esports World Cup 2025 Dota 2 prize pool distribution

• 1st place: $1,000,000 & 1000 Club Points
• 2nd place: $500,000 & 750 Club Points
• 3rd place: $300,000 & 500 Club Points
• 4th place: $200,000 & 300 Club Points
• 5th-8th place: $125,000 & 200 Club Points
• 9th-12th place: $75,000
• 13th-16th place: $50,000

A dominant group stage run will ensure a place into the playoffs stage and, therefore, a secured top 8 finish. The 16 teams have been split into four groups of 4 teams each. The winner of each group will go straight to the playoffs, while the rest of the teams will head to the elimination stage where only four will survive. The stakes are high right from the start of the tournament, and there are quite a few front runners to beat in the group stage.

Group A

• Natus Vincere
• Talon Esports
• Team Spirit
• Xtreme Gaming

Team Spirit are the obvious favourites of Group A. They claimed only one championship title this season so far, at DreamLeague Season 26, and reached the grand finals at ESL One Raleigh 2025. But one thing Team Spirit are known for is peaking at the right moment. They proved a few times before that they figured out a perfect pace throughout the draining Dota 2 competitive seasons and if there is a time when one would like to peak, then this is it.

Esports World Cup 2025 has a very good chance to be the tournament with the largest prize pool this year and it is the only other elite tournament where Team Spirit is yet to lift the trophy. 2025 could change that for the team who later this year will be looking to break a new record by claiming The International trophy for a third time.

It is hard to imagine that anyone in Group A can steal the top seed from Team Spirit, but the rivalry and mutual respect between Spirit’s carry Illya "Yatoro" Mulyarchuk and his counterpart from Xtreme Gaming, Wang "Ame" Chunyu has always brought exciting games to watch. So make sure you catch the Team Spirit vs Xtreme Gaming opening series live at EWC on Tuesday at 11:00 CEST.

Group B

• BetBoom Team
• Execration
• Gaimin Gladiators
• Team Falcons

This is an interesting group as it features three teams in contention for that top seed. If we are to look at the recent results, BetBoom should be the front runners, coming off hot from winning PGL Wallachia Season 5. That was the first LAN victory of this year for BB Team and they took it with a 3-1 over Gaimin Gladiators. The latter are the EWC reigning champions, but they had a slow start of the season as they worked on getting their revamped roster to work. PGL Wallachia Season 5 was the first sign that they might be back on track, so they might just show their true colours this week in Riyadh.

Team Falcons is the third big name of this group, and the one with a lot at stake. Riyadh is the home city of Falcons, who placed first in the EWC 2024 Club Championship with a total of 5,665 Club points, more than double that of Team Liquid’s 2,545 Club Points, which placed them in second place. Falcons finished third in the Dota 2 competition last year, and will surely fight with everything they’ve got to improve that result. They are one of the very few teams to have made no roster changes in between seasons and just like last year, they are main contenders at the title. So, despite not even competing at PGL Wallachia Season 5, and getting eliminated in the groups at DreamLeague Season 26, Falcons are most likely to start the EWC with a flawless group stage run.

Group C

• Aurora Gaming
• Team Yandex
• Tundra Esports
• Virtus.pro

Tundra Esports should have almost a free pass in Group C. They had a great season so far, with three championship titles claimed from five grand finals played. The only team who might stain their results is Aurora Gaming, who have been on the rise for the past few months, but it’s hard to imagine that they will have the power to deny Tundra a first place finish in Group C.

Group D

• HEROIC
• PARIVISION
• Shopify Rebellion
• Team Liquid

Group D features the team that is regarded by many as the best in the world right now. PARIVISION won the only two LAN tournaments held with a live audience this season, ESL One Bangkok 2024 and ESL One Raleigh 2025. So, despite having the youngest carry in the scene, they should be more than ready to deal with the pressure. EWC would consolidate their status ahead of The International 2025, but for a straight pass to the playoffs, they will have to deal with Team Liquid. The latter competed at the last two events without Aydin "Insania" Sarkohi, who fell ill. Even so, they placed third at PGL Wallachia Season 5 and have just won FISSURE Universe: Episode 5 last week. Interestingly enough, they secured the Fissure championship title with a 3:0 sweep over PARIVISION. For sure, the rivalry brewing between these two teams is worth following through the next two weeks at the Esports World Cup.