Preview of 1win Essence II - the last tier-1 tournament before The International 2026

Tomorrow, July 30, 1win Essence II starts. The format of the competition, the list of participants and the schedule of the first gaming day are in our material.

The 1win Essence II group stage will take place from July 30 to August 2. Teams in two groups of five teams will each play one BO2 series. Two points are awarded for a win, and one for a draw. Based on the results of the stage, the two best teams from each group will advance to the upper bracket of the playoffs, and the teams that took places from 3rd to 4th will advance to the lower bracket. The remaining participants will leave the competition.

The playoffs are held from August 3 to 5. All matches of both brackets will be held in the best-of-3 format; to win the grand final you will need to win three maps.

1win Team

Team Falcons

Team Liquid

BetBoom Team

MOUZ

O.G.

LGD Gaming

Vici Gaming

Nigma Galaxy

GamerLegion

• 1st place - $100,000;
• 2nd place - $50,000;
• 3rd place - $22,500;
• 4th place - $12,500;
• 5th-6th place - $5,000;
• 7-8th place - $2,500;
• 9th-10th place - no reward provided.

• 14:00 - LGD Gaming vs MOUZ;
• 20:00 — Team Liquid vs. MOUZ.

• 12:00 — Nigma Galaxy vs 1win Team;
• 16:00 - Nigma Galaxy vs Vici Gaming;
• 18:00 - Team Falcons vs Vici Gaming.

A week after the completion of 1win Essence II, the main tournament of the Dota 2 competitive season starts - The International 2026.