Summary
- EWC 2025 has begun, with its DOTA 2 tournament kicking off on July 8.
- 16 teams will battle it out for a $3 million prize pool until July 19, with the champions receiving a lion’s share of $1 million.
- The tournament begins with the Group Stage, followed by the Elimination Phase and the Playoffs.
The EWC 2025 DOTA 2 tournament has officially kicked off in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. From July 8 to 19, this event will deliver fierce battles between 16 of the world’s best teams. As part of the broader Esports World Cup, fans expect a lot from this high-stakes competition. Here’s a complete breakdown of everything you need to know—from the teams and format to the full schedule and where to watch.
Participating Teams
A total of 16 teams are competing at EWC 2025 DOTA 2. Eight teams were directly invited via the ESL Pro Tour (EPT) leaderboard, while the remaining eight earned their spots through regional qualifiers.
Direct Invites:
- Gaimin Gladiators
- BetBoom Team
- Team Spirit
- Team Liquid
- Team Falcons
- Tundra Esports
- Talon Esports
- Aurora Gaming
Qualified Teams:
- PARIVISION (Wildcard)
- Virtus.pro (Middle East & West Asia)
- Xtreme Gaming (China)
- NAVI (Western Europe)
- Team Yandex (Eastern Europe)
- Shopify Rebellion (North America)
- HEROIC (South America)
- Execration (Southeast Asia)
Format Explained
The EWC 2025 DOTA 2 tournament features three main stages:
1. Group Stage (July 8–11)
- Four groups of four teams
- Best-of-two round-robin matches
- Group winners move directly to the Playoffs
- Second-place teams enter the second round of the Elimination Phase
- Third and fourth-place teams start in the first round of the Elimination Phase
Here are the groups of teams for the tournament Group Stage:
| Group | Teams |
| Group A | NAVI, Team Spirit, Xtreme Gaming, Talon Esports |
| Group B | BetBoom Team, Gaimin Gladiators, Team Falcons, Execration |
| Group C | Aurora Gaming, Tundra Esports, Virtus.pro, Team Yandex |
| Group D | HEROIC, PARIVISION, Team Liquid, Shopify Rebellion |
2. Elimination Phase (July 12–13)
Uses a Gauntlet format:
- First Round: 3rd-place team faces 4th-place
- Second Round; Winner of the first round then plays the 2nd-place team for a spot in the Playoffs
All matches are best-of-three (BO3).
3. Playoffs (July 16–19)
- Single-elimination bracket with eight teams.
- Matches are BO3, except the Grand Final, which is best-of-five (BO5).
- A third-place decider match will also be held.
Fans can catch all the EWC 2025 DOTA 2 action live on these platforms:
- Twitch: Main stream
- YouTube: Official EWC Channel
- TikTok, Weibo, Bilibili for regional broadcasts
Additionally, fans can take part in fantasy predictions and win rewards by joining EWC’s free-to-play fantasy league.
Prize Pool
This international DOTA 2 tournament is part of the Esports World Cup; a massive multi-title competition offering over $70 million in total rewards. The total prize pool for EWC 2025 DOTA 2 is $3 million USD, distributed across all 16 participating teams:
- 1st place: $1,000,000
- 2nd place: $500,000
- 3rd place: $300,000
- 4th place: $200,000
- 5th–8th: $125,000
- 9th–12th: $75,000
- 13th–16th: $50,000
Conclusion
Now that the EWC 2025 DOTA 2 event has begun, fans can already follow the action in the tournament’s Group Stage. With almost two weeks of team rivalries and thrilling matches, this is truly a DOTA 2 event you won’t want to miss. Which team are you rooting for?
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