PARIVISION swept 1win Team 3–0 in the ESSENCE I grand final. Vladimir “No[o]ne” Minenko’s squad became the tournament champion and earned $50,000, while 1win Team received $25,000 for second place.
Evgeniy “Noticed” Ignatenko reached the 17,000 MMR mark and shared the milestone on his personal Telegram channel. His most played hero in the run was Sven, with 113 games and a 66.4% win rate, and he was ranked sixth on the European ladder at the time of the report.
Team Yandex esports lead Vladislav Kuzmenko said Martin “Saksa” Sazdov understands Russian well and is interested in winemaking. Kuzmenko added that Saksa gave him a bottle of his own wine, while the team mostly communicates in English during games.
Valve has officially launched a new event in Dota 2 called The Dark Carnival. The first part of the event is Midnight Run, a story chapter with progression, match tickets, and rewards for players to unlock as they advance.
The European closed qualifier for The International 2026 in Dota 2 is still underway. Today, the qualifier continues with another set of upper-bracket matches, while the lower-bracket battles will follow in the coming days.
Valve has blocked access to high-MMR pub replays, removing an important scouting source for Dota 2 analysts. For Winio, this makes official matches and tournament context even more important.
Team Refuser advanced in the closed qualifiers for The International 2026 in China. Team Paparazi defeated Game Master 2-0, knocking JT- and Pyw out of the race for a spot at TI26.
Team Nemesis, Lindorfitos, and RisingRage emerged victorious from the region’s first open qualifier and will continue their quest for a spot in the year’s premier Dota 2 tournament.
Team Yandex claimed the Dota 2 title at BLAST Slam VII. In the grand final, the team defeated LGD Gaming 3–1 and walked away with the $300,000 grand prize.
Team Falcons will play the BLAST Slam VII playoffs with a stand-in: Malr1ne is out due to unresolved visa issues, and SumaiL will replace him as midlaner for the rest of the tournament.
