Dota 2 drama: Ukrainian NAVI to face Russia in high-stakes match for playoff spot

NAVI one step away from World Cup playoffs

Ukrainian esports team Natus Vincere secured an important victory at the Esports World Cup 2025 in Dota 2.

In their second group stage match, NAVI confidently defeated the Chinese squad Xtreme Gaming with a 2:0 scoreline.

Thanks to this win, the Ukrainian team topped their group and moved closer to securing a spot in the playoffs.

This match will decide NAVI's fate

A potentially decisive match awaits NAVI on July 10, when they face Team Spirit, which features four Russian players and one Ukrainian. The game is set to start at noon Kyiv time.

To guarantee advancement to the next round, NAVI must either defeat Spirit or hope for a draw in the parallel match between Xtreme Gaming and Talon Esports.

If NAVI loses and one side wins in the other match, NAVI will be forced to play an additional tiebreaker match against the winner of that game.

As a reminder, in their first group match, NAVI drew 1:1 with the Filipino team Talon.

NAVI's position in global esports

Beyond their success in Dota 2, NAVI also recently qualified for the Esports World Cup 2025 in PUBG.

The PUBG tournament will take place on August 15–16 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with a prize pool of $2 million.

It's worth noting that last year, NAVI became two-time Major winners and the first-ever champions in Counter-Strike 2. They also claimed the title at ESL Pro League Season 20.