Esports World Cup: Team Liquid stands as lone unbeaten

Team Liquid is the only undefeated squad two-thirds of the way through group stage play at the Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2025 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Team Liquid swept PARIVISION 2-0 on Wednesday to seize sole possession of first place in Group D. Team Liquid needed just 25 minutes to take Game 1 playing on green before being forced to work more than 46 minutes to claim Game 2, also on green. HEROIC, which played on red in Game 1 (37 minutes) and green in Game 2 (71 minutes), swept Shopify Rebellion in the other Group D matchup to pull into a second-place tie with PARIVISION.

Sweeps ruled most of Wednesday's action. In Group A, Natus Vincere and Team Spirit remained in first place by sweeping Xtreme Gaming and Talon Esports, respectively. Both victorious teams played on green. Natus Vincere claimed maps in 36 and 43 minutes; team Spirit won in 27 and 38 minutes.

In Group B, BetBoom Team and Gaimin Gladiators share first place after earning sweeps Wednesday. BetBoom, playing on red in Game 1, took care of Team Falcons but needed more than 100 minutes to do so (47 and 63 minutes). Gaimin, playing on green in Game 1, handled Execration in just more than an hour (34 and 32 minutes).

Group C featured the day's only split as Aurora Gaming and Tundra Esports split their match. Tundra Esports required 47 minutes while playing on red to secure Game 1, then Aurora Gaming played on green in Game 2 and needed 36 minutes to secure the split and continue to share first place. Team Yandex swept Virtus.pro (33 minutes on green, 38 minutes on red) to move into third place in the group.

Virtus.pro and Shopify Rebellion are the only squads with two losses apiece as group stage play nears its end. On Thursday, Groups A and B take the spotlight as they close out their round robins. On Friday, Groups C and D complete group stage action and set the stage for the elimination phase on Saturday and Sunday.

The Esports World Cup 2025 is the final championship of the ESL Pro Tour, now in its third season. The prize pool is $3 million, which features a $1 million prize and 1,000 club points for the team that's crowned as the champion on July 19.

Here's the schedule for the last stage of group play:

Thursday:

--Xtreme Gaming vs. Talon Esports (Group A)

--Team Spirit vs. Natus Vincere (Group A)

--BetBoom Team vs. Execration (Group B)

--Gaimin Gladiators vs. Team Falcons (Group B)

Friday:

-- Virtus.pro vs. Aurora Gaming (Group C)

-- Tundra Esports vs. Team Yandex (Group C)

--PARIVISION vs. Shopify Rebellion (Group D)

--HEROIC vs. Team Liquid (Group D)

Esports World Cup 2025 Standings (match record W-T-L, map record)

Group A

T1. Natus Vincere, 1-1-0 (3-1)

T1. Team Spirit, 1-1-0 (3-1)

T3. Talon Esports, 0-1-1 (1-3)

T3. Xtreme Gaming, 0-1-1 (1-3)

Group B

T1. BetBoom Team, 1-1-0 (3-1)

T1. Gaimin Gladiators, 1-1-0 (3-1)

T3. Execration, 0-1-1 (1-3)

T3. Team Falcons, 0-1-1 (1-3)

Group C

T1. Aurora Gaming, 1-1-0 (3-1)

T1. Tundra Esports, 1-1-0 (3-1)

3. Team Yandex, 1-0-1 (2-2)

4. Virtus.pro, 0-0-2 (0-4)

Group D

1. Team Liquid, 2-0-0 (4-0)

T2. HEROIC, 1-0-1 (2-2)

T2. PARIVISION, 1-0-1 (2-2)

T4. Shopify Rebellion, 0-0-2 (0-4)

--Field Level Media