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Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025 Tournament Preview & Guide - 16 Dota 2 Teams Battle for Their Share of $3 Million

Tit Krajnik

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Last updated: 06 Jul 2025

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Tit Krajnik 06 Jul 2025

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Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025 kicks off on Tuesday, July 8, 2025
16 Dota 2 teams fight for the lion’s share of the $3,000,000 prize pool
All eyes are on Team Spirit as the leading favourites

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EWC 2025 Dota 2

Held as a part of the biggest esports tournament festival of the year, the Dota EWC 2025 event is one no esports fan should miss!

When Does Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025 Start?
Where Will the Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025 Be Played?
Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025 Format
Group Stage
Elimination Phase
Playoffs
Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025 Teams
What is the Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025 Prize Pool?
Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025 Betting Odds
Where to Watch the Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025?
Where to Bet on Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025?

Set to kick off on Tuesday, July 8, the Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025 is one of the most significant tournaments of the year, succeeding only The International.

The competition will feature 16 Dota 2 teams, including the top-rated squads from the EPT rankings, six squads that made it through regional qualifiers, the Asian Champions League champions, and the defending champions, Gaimin Gladiators.

The stacked field of the world’s elite squads ensures that Dota 2 EWC 2025 will leave no Dota 2 enthusiast indifferent, offering over 10 days of exciting action and many betting opportunities to explore with the top-rated betting sites.

As we get closer to the Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025 kickoff, there is one main question that needs answering: Which team will rise to the occasion and claim the coveted trophy and the lion’s share of the $3 million prize pool?

When Does Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025 Start?

Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025 will begin on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, with the group stage. The tournament will conclude with BO5 grand finals on Sunday, July 19.

Where Will the Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025 Be Played?

Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025 will be held at Boulevard Riyadh City in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025 Format

The event will be divided into three stages - the group stage, the elimination phase, and the playoffs.

All 16 teams will start their Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025 campaign in the group stage, where they will be divided into four groups of four teams. All group stage games are best-of-two (BO2).

The squads will battle only for a favourable seeding in the group stage, as there will be no eliminations.

The group stage winners will receive a direct invitation to the playoffs, while the remaining eight teams will proceed to the elimination phase. The runners-up will advance to round 2, and the remaining teams will advance to round 1.

The elimination phase will use a gauntlet bracket, with the 4th- and 3rd-placed teams from the group stage placed in round 1. The winners will then face off against the second-placed teams from the group stage for four tickets leading into the playoffs.

The playoffs are single-elimination with all games played as best-of-three (BO3), except for the grand finals, which are BO5.

Group Stage

16 Dota 2 teams
Four groups of four teams
All games are best-of-two (BO2)
Group stage winners get a direct invite to the playoffs
Runners-up advance to stage 2 of the elimination phase
4th- and 3rd-placed teams advance to stage 1 of the elimination phase

Elimination Phase

12 Dota 2 teams
All games are best-of-three (BO3)
Four teams proceed to the playoffs

Playoffs

Eight Dota 2 teams
Single-elimination bracket
Best-of-three (BO3) games for all matches except for the final
Best-of-five (BO5) grand finals

Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025 Teams

The Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025 is one of the most stacked Dota 2 tournaments of the year, featuring 16 of the world’s strongest teams.

The list includes the defending champions, Gaimin Gladiators; the Asian Champions League champions; top-eight teams on the EPT Leaderboard; and six teams that qualified for EWC 2025 through regional qualifiers.

The group seeding is as follows.

Group A

Natus Vincere
Talon Esports
Team Spirit
Xtreme Gaming

Group B

BetBoom Team
Execration
Gaimin Gladiators
Team Falcons

Group C

Aurora Gaming
Team Yandex
Tundra Esports
Virtus.pro

Group D

HEROIC
PARIVISION
Shopify Rebellion
Team Liquid

What is the Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025 Prize Pool?

The Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025 has a $3,000,000 prize pool, which will be distributed among all 16 participating squads based on their final placement. The tournament will also award EWC Club Points to the top eight placed organisations.

Champions - $1,000,000 + 1,000 Club Points
Runners-up - $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

Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025 Betting Odds

Team Spirit (4.00) are the leading favourites to win the Dota 2 EWC 2025 tournament, closely followed by PARIVISION (5.00) and Team Liquid (7.00), who are tied with BetBoom Team (7.00) as the third-most likely team to succeed.

Team	Odds
Team Spirit	4.00
PARIVISION	5.00
Team Liquid	7.00
BetBoom Team	7.00
Tundra Esports	8.00
Team Falcons	11.00
Gaimin Gladiators	13.00
Aurora Gaming	16.00
Xtreme Gaming	21.00
HEROIC	21.00
Virtus.pro	26.00
Talon Esports	26.00
Cyber Goose	26.00
Shopify Rebellion	41.00
Natus Vincere	51.00
Execration	66.00

Tundra Esports (8.00) are the only remaining team priced at single digits, ahead of Team Falcons (11.00), Gaimin Gladiators (13.00), Aurora Gaming (16.00), Xtreme Gaming (21.00), and HEROIC (21.00).

Beyond the ten squads are six outsiders, namely Virtus.pro (26.00), Talon Esports (26.00), and Cyber Goose (26.00), who are fairly unproven in Tier-1 events.

Meanwhile, Shopify Rebellion (41.00), NAVI (51.00), and Execration have found some success in regional events, but much like other outsiders do not have the results in big tournaments to be viewed as a serious threat.

Where to Watch the Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025?

The Esports World Cup 2025 is one of the largest Dota 2 events of the year and is extremely well-covered by all major streaming platforms, ensuring you can find live streams for EWC 2025 without any issues.

Esports fans can also access free live streams for Dota 2 EWC 2025 on the best betting sites with live streaming services, including Stake, where you can find in-play markets and bet on the tournament as it happens.

Visit Stake
Register with promo code NEWBONUS or log in
Locate Dota 2 betting markets
Follow the action and place in-play bets on EWC 2025

Where to Bet on Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025?

Betting markets for the Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025 are available on the majority of online betting sites. Dota 2 is one of the most bet-on esports in the world, so it comes as no surprise that bookmakers make sure they meet the ever-growing demand for Dota 2 markets, yet some are more popular than others.

Bet on Esports World Cup 2025 at StakePromo code NEWBONUSBET HERE

Stake is one of the main choices among Dota 2 punters. It comes with competitive odds, great market coverage and various promotions and bonuses, such as a sign-up bonus with promo code NEWBONUS.

Verdict

Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025

Team Spirit and Tundra Esports both gave up their spots at the DreamLeague Season 26 to prepare for the Esports World Cup 2025. While one (Spirit) is expected to find more success in Saudi Arabia, Tundra Esports are not to be overlooked as one of the more underrated teams attending the event.

If you’re looking for teams capable of upsets, look no further than Eastern European titans, Aurora Gaming and BetBoom Team.

Both squads have pulled off major upsets this season and have shown high highs. While neither have been as consistent as dogs, they are not to be overlooked.

Of the two, BB Team look poised to make it far. They have been all over the place for most of the season but placed second at DreamLeague S26 and won PGL Wallachia Season 5 last month, which is a good indication that BetBoom are in good shape and capable of doing some damage.

BB Team To Reach Final

To Reach Final

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