Team Nemesis and PlayTime Affected By EWC 2026 Elimination

The Esports World Cup 2026 is one of the biggest points of interest for organizations, and getting eliminated affects rosters almost as much as The International. Team Nemesis and PlayTime were both affected by their elimination from EWC 2026.

Team Nemesis was a short-term partnership formed with EWC 2026 and The International 2026 in mind. After their elimination, the team was disbanded, and the players will now compete under a new banner. PlayTime was affected by an ESIC investigation, which resulted in some players and their coach being dropped.

Team Nemesis: Jumping Back to SEA

The team most affected by their elimination was Team Nemesis, which decided to return to Southeast Asia after being eliminated in Group C of the Esports World Cup 2026.

Unfortunately, they did not have enough time to prepare and had the misfortune of landing in a very strong group. They tied with MOUZ and lost to PVISION, Team Spirit, Vici Gaming, and REKONIX, finishing in last place and departing the EWC before even reaching the Survival Stage.

Coach Filipe "Astini" Ribeiro talked about this partnership on his Twitter profile (@astinidota). He thanked Team Nemesis for the opportunity and mentioned that they will be playing at Games of the Future as Midas Club.

PlayTime: Going Around the Investigation

Following the announcement of the ESIC investigation, PlayTime got caught in the crossfire of the provisional suspensions handed to Juan "Vintage" Angulo and Oswaldo "DarkMago" Herrera.

This resulted in their elimination from EWC 2026, and the quickest solution to this stalemate was to remove both players from the roster. Unexpectedly, offlaner Frank "Frank" Ayala was also released.

The announcement mentions that a new Dota 2 team is being assembled, but it does not make it clear whether the remaining players will be part of this new roster or if they will remain in South America.

EWC 2026 Grand Final: Eastern Europe is Back

While South America took a big hit from the EWC 2026 eliminations, Eastern Europe regained the strength and prestige it had last year by placing two teams in the Grand Final.

BB Team won the Upper Bracket Final against Vici Gaming, removing China from the Grand Final and securing the first slot with a convincing 2-0 victory.

On the Lower Bracket, PVISION had a harder path through Team Yandex. Despite an hour-long second map, they managed to prevail with a 2-1 victory, advancing to the Grand Final and leaving Yandex to play Vici Gaming in the third-place decider.

Closing Thoughts

The Esports World Cup 2026 is almost over, and soon we will report on the results and meta changes from the third-place decider and the Grand Final, which marks the return of Eastern European dominance to professional Dota 2.

If you want to check out our metagame recap and coverage of other tournaments, such as the upcoming International, remember to visit the news section on the Strafe website!

READ MORE: ATF On EWC Playoffs: "It's Just Shit Format"

Featured Image Source: PlayTime and Team Nemesis