8 teams advance to the second stage of DreamLeague S26

The first phase group stage of DreamLeague Season 26 officially ended on May 23, with a total of 8 teams successfully breaking through and advancing to the second phase.

PARIVISION, Aurora Gaming and Nigma Galaxy performed the best and led the qualifying list. A total of 16 teams participated in this event, divided into two groups for a single round-robin match. The top four in each group advanced to the second stage, and the rest were eliminated.

The total prize money of the event is as high as 1 million US dollars. It is also the last chance to compete for the direct invitation qualification of the "Esports World Cup" (EWC) 2025 "Dota 2". EWC will be held in July with a prize money of up to 3 million US dollars.

Group A was very competitive, with Aurora Gaming and Nigma Galaxy tied for first place with 10 wins and 4 losses. Aurora won first place in the group with a more stable record, while Nigma Galaxy played amazingly and continued to exceed expectations.

BetBoom Team and Team Liquid advanced with 8 wins and 6 losses respectively. Although both teams used substitutes due to player absences, their performances were still solid.

In Group B, PARIVISION won the championship with an absolute advantage of 12 wins and 2 losses, showing its strong strength at the top of the EPT points list and becoming the biggest favorite to win this tournament. The Chinese team Yakult Brothers emerged as a dark horse with 9 wins and 5 losses, becoming a dark horse in the Chinese TI2025 qualifier.

Southeast Asian powerhouse Talon Esports followed closely behind, while Gaimin Gladiators completed a comeback in the extra game with Team Falcons to win the last qualifying spot.

The second stage of the group stage will be held from May 23 to 29. The eight teams will play a single round-robin with two wins out of three. The top two teams will advance to the upper half of the knockout stage, the third and fourth places will enter the lower half, and the remaining four teams will be eliminated.