Team Spirit Clinches Dota 2 Title at Esports World Cup 2025 After Flawless Run

Team Spirit, the winner of the DOTA 2 event at EWC 2025 (Image Credit: EWC)

Team Spirit has been crowned the Dota 2 champion at the Esports World Cup 2025, delivering a dominating performance that left little room for doubt.

After 10 days of fierce competition in Riyadh, the CIS squad ended the tournament with a resounding 3-0 win over Team Falcons in the grand finals.

Expectations were sky-high ahead of the final clash. Both Team Spirit and Team Falcons had delivered thrilling playoff performances, without dropping a single map. Many anticipated a tightly contested series. Instead, what unfolded was a near-flawless display by Spirit—one that underscored why they’ve long been considered one of Dota 2’s elite teams.

Third Place Showdown

Before the grand showdown, fans were treated to a spirited third-place match between PARIVISION and Tundra Esports. The best-of-three began with Alan “Satanic” Gallyamov’s Nature’s Prophet going on a rampage with 23 kills in game one.

However, PARIVISION bounced back in style, unleashing their trademark Pudge, this time piloted by Volodymyr “No[o]ne” Minenko, to claim the win and $300,000 in prize money. Tundra settled for fourth place.

The Grand Finale of DOTA 2 EWC

In the grand finals, Spirit wasted no time setting the tone. Game one saw Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov’s Lycan lead the charge, dominating the map after picking up a fast Helm of the Overlord. Falcons simply couldn’t find an answer.

Game two was no better for them—Denis “Larl” Sigitov’s Storm Spirit and Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk’s Medusa proved untouchable, while Falcons managed just nine kills.

By game three, the writing was on the wall. Spirit executed their strategy to perfection, dismantling Falcons and sealing a clean 3-0 sweep. With this, they walked away not only with the championship title but also a $1 million cash prize and 1,000 EPT points.

Collapse was also named Tournament MVP for his consistent and impactful play.

Finalists' Journey in the Tournament 

Spirit’s journey to the title was relatively smooth. After finishing at the top of Group A, they earned a direct path to the playoffs. From there, they defeated Gaimin Gladiators 2-0 in the quarterfinals, then breezed past PARIVISION in the semis with another 2-0, before overpowering Falcons in the final.

Team Falcons, on the other hand, had a much tougher road. Finishing third in Group B with a 0-2-1 record, they had to fight through the elimination phase, beating Virtus.pro and Natus Vincere before earning a playoff spot. Despite a strong playoff run, with clean 2-0 wins over Team Liquid and Tundra Esports, they couldn’t match Spirit’s intensity in the grand finals.

Prize Pool Distribution

Here’s how $3 million prize pool is distributed:

• 1st Place – Team Spirit: $1,000,000

• 2nd Place – Team Falcons: $500,000

• 3rd Place – PARIVISION: $300,000

• 4th Place – Tundra Esports: $200,000

• 5th–8th: $125,000 – Gaimin Gladiators, Aurora Gaming, BetBoom Team, Team Liquid

• 9th–12th: $75,000 – Xtreme Gaming, Team Yandex, Talon Esports, Natus Vincere

• 13th–16th: $50,000 – Execration, Shopify Rebellion, HEROIC, Virtus.pro

Viewership

The event also pulled in strong viewership. As per Esports Charts, the Dota 2 tournament at EWC 2025 peaked at over 423,000 concurrent viewers, with more than 15 million hours watched across 89 hours of airtime.

Road Ahead

The Esports World Cup 2025 marked the final championship of the ESL Pro Tour’s third season. Formerly held as the Riyadh Masters, this year’s tournament saw a revamped structure with three phases: group stage (July 8–11), elimination phase (July 12–13), and playoffs (July 16–19). All playoff matches except the grand final were best-of-three, with the final itself played in a best-of-five format.

With The International 2025 around the corner, in Hamburg, Germany, from September 11–14, 2025, both Spirit and Falcons will now shift their focus to preparing for the next major showdown. But for now, it’s Team Spirit standing tall—Dota 2’s undisputed kings of the Esports World Cup 2025.