HEROIC, Spirit, and SAR Just Punched Their Tickets to Bucharest: $300K Grand Final Awaits
Three teams locked in their playoff spots Wednesday at the PGL Wallachia Season 8 event in Bucharest, Romania, after surviving do-or-die matches that came down to a single series. The Dota 2 tournament kicked off with 16 teams competing for a slice of the $1 million prize pool, and after the Swiss-system group stage narrowed it to the top eight, the final three spots went to HEROIC, South America Rejects, and Team Spirit in a tense Round 5 elimination day.
Sweeps and Heartbreaks in the Deciding Round
HEROIC and Team Spirit both came through with dominant performances. HEROIC swept GamerLegion in straight games, closing out in 42 minutes on red and 44 minutes on green. Spirit followed up with their own 2-0 sweep against Xtreme Gaming, sandwiching a marathon 72-minute triumph on red with a quick 40-minute victory on green to punch through.
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👉 Claim Your Free $10 at KalshiSouth America Rejects had to work harder for it. SAR outlasted MOUZ in a back-and-forth battle, stealing a 45-minute win on green before taking a decisive 58-minute victory on red. MOUZ kept it competitive with a 53-minute win on red, but ultimately couldn't find enough firepower to advance.
The Bracket Is Set, and the Real Money Starts Thursday
The double-elimination playoffs kick off Thursday with best-of-three matches throughout until Sunday's best-of-five grand final. The winner takes home the $300,000 first-place prize, with runner-up earning $175,000. The upper-bracket quarterfinal matchups are locked in: PARIVISION faces South America Rejects, Aurora Gaming takes on HEROIC, Team Liquid meets Team Falcons, and BetBoom Team squares off against Team Spirit.
Every team still alive in Bucharest is playing for real money now. Third place gets $120,000, fourth takes $80,000, and even teams finishing in the 5-6 bracket earn $60,000. Thursday's matches will tell us everything about who's built to make a run at that grand final and the biggest paycheck this event has to offer.
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