PARIVISION have claimed the Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2026 title by defeating regional rivals BetBoom Team 3-1 in the Grand Final at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles on Monday. The Eastern European squad secured US$750,000 from the event’s US$2 million prize pool, marking the second Tier-1 title they have won this season. Both victories came after Clement “Puppey” Ivanov officially joined the team as head coach in January.
A Dominant Run Through the Group Stage
PARIVISION entered the EWC 2026 Group Stage as co-favorites alongside Team Yandex. They proceeded to make that billing look conservative, finishing Group C with a 9-1 record. The team swept Vici Gaming, MOUZ, REKONIX, and Team Nemesis while splitting 1-1 with defending champions Team Spirit. That record was enough to claim the top seed and a direct path into the Playoffs, bypassing the Survival Stage entirely.
Across the entire tournament before the Grand Final, PARIVISION dropped just three games. They eliminated Rune Eaters Esports in the quarterfinals and outlasted fellow favorites Team Yandex in the semifinal—a 2-1 series that many commentators called the de facto championship match—to advance to the final round.
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BetBoom Lands First, But the Series Wasn’t Close After That
The Grand Final opened with a surprise. BetBoom, who had arrived via a Survival Stage sweep of LGD Gaming and Playoff victories over Nigma Galaxy and Vici Gaming, came out swinging in Game 1 with Matvey “MieRo” Vasyunin on Timbersaw and Ilja “Kiritych” Ulyanov on Clinkz. They controlled the pace and closed it out in 47 minutes, earning a 1-0 series lead.
PARIVISION responded decisively. Game 2 stretched to 62 minutes and turned into an attrition battle that PARIVISION ultimately won to level the series. From there, the match belonged to one team. Games 3 and 4 were convincing wins; Game 4 ended in 36 minutes with PARIVISION holding a 29-7 kill lead. Volodymyr “No[o]ne” Minenko delivered six kills and 15 assists on Pangolier, and Naltakyan “9class” provided five kills and 12 assists on Keeper of the Light. It was also 9class’s 23rd birthday.
Evgeniy “Noticed” Ignatenko was named the tournament’s MVP, taking home an additional US$25,000 bonus. BetBoom will receive US$340,000 for the runner-up finish.
From Player to Coach: Puppey’s Impact
Noticed’s MVP award encapsulates PARIVISION’s 2025-26 story. Ignatenko joined the roster in mid-2026 after a stint with Team Yandex and immediately raised the team’s offlane. His performances combined mechanical dominance with consistent engagement timing that left opponents unable to dictate team-fight positioning.
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Puppey—full name Clement Ivanov, the Estonian legend who won the first-ever Dota 2 world championship at The International 2011 with Natus Vincere and then spent 11 years captaining Team Secret—took the PARIVISION coaching role in January 2026. It was his first coaching position after nearly two decades as a professional Dota 2 player and captain. His influence on PARIVISION’s draft preparation and in-series tactical adjustments has been widely discussed throughout the season.
The weight of evidence heading into The International 2026 points one direction. PARIVISION have two Tier-1 trophies, a 9-1 group stage record in the world’s richest non-TI event, and zero series losses across Paris. They enter Shanghai as the team to beat.
The Dota 2 EWC 2026 ran from July 7-20 at Paris Expo Porte de Versailles, France. The event featured 24 of the top Dota 2 teams globally, competing across Group Stage (July 7-12), Survival Stage (July 14-15), and Playoffs (July 16-20). The competition was the final championship of the ESL Pro Tour’s fourth season.