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Gaimin Gladiators and Aurora Gaming get their keys crushed as they exit the Dota 2 tournament at the Esports World Cup playoffs on day one.
With the Esports World Cup Dota 2 event kicking off again today, two teams saw their tournament hopes come crashing down. Gaimin Gladiators, Team Spirit, Aurora Gaming, and PARIVISION were all in line to take a massive step forward into the semi-finals. Unfortunately, with a single elimination bracket, only two would move forward.
Although best-of-threes were the name of the game, the teams were only one lost series away from elimination.
The top 8 Dota 2 teams at the Esports World Cup are locked in
As the elimination phase of the Esports World Cup 2025 Dota 2 tournament draws to a close, the top 8 teams are set for the playoffs.
Jarrad Adams
Top 8 and a dream: Gaimin Gladiators and Aurora Gaming eliminated
As the reigning champions from the Riyadh Masters 2024, GG were looking to defend their crown. However, the 2023 champions, Team Spirit, were their first challenger. With a great start to the game, GG was on fire, as they dominated the map. Marcus “Ace” Hoelgaard’s Axe was in the thick of things, chopping down his opponents over and over. With a 29k net worth lead, GG was set to get ahead. However, Spirit never gave up and forced a huge mistake.
As the game turned, Spirit took the first win, leaving GG to pick up the pieces. As the carry Marci was drafted again by GG in game two, it had nowhere near the same impact. This time, Spirit had locked in, and they drove GG back with force, securing a huge 2-0 victory.
In the first series to go to game three in the Dota 2 EWC, we had Aurora and PARIVSION. In an absolute massacre first game, PV destroyed Aurora. Alan “Satanic” Gallyamov’s Sven was at the top of the scoreboard, with his opponents managing only 6 kills. But then came game two, where it was the Gleb “kiyotaka” Zyryanov Shadowfiend that overpowered PV. It was not long before the series was tied, with one game left to decide who would move on.
Unfortunately for Aurora, after a fantastic game two, game three never went their way. While their draft looked fairly solid, they just could not make it work against a very strong PV. Once again, Aurora only managed a measly 6 kills as they saw their EWC hopes destroyed.
Four teams exit the EWC Dota 2 tournament in round 1 of the elimination phase
Elimination phase kicked off today at the Esports World Cup 2025 Dota 2 tournament, with four teams heading home.
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The first two semi-finalists lock in
With that, Aurora Gaming and Gaimin Gladiators both have their keys crushed, as they exit the Dota 2 tournament at the Esports World Cup. Unfortunately for the two teams, the top 8 is where their journey ends. On the other side, both Team Spirit and PARIVISION step up into the top 4 and the semi-finals, where they will face off on July 18.
However, before that, on July 17, we will see the next two eliminations. BetBoom Team will take on Tundra Esports, and Team Liquid will go against Team Falcons in the quarterfinals.
For more Dota 2 news and information, stay tuned toesports.gg.
