8 storylines to follow in the 2026 Dota 2 season

In esports and in Dota 2, we’re all about the storylines. Whether you’re cheering for the underdog or rooting for a team that might be considered villainous, there’s no shortage of drama and theatrics in the competitive scene.

And now that we’ve got a new year ahead of us in 2026, there’s a lot of different paths that the season can go in this regard. But which ones will be the most compelling?

1. Are MOUZ better than a one-hit wonder?

Easily the biggest surprise of the 2025-2026 season, MOUZ have come out of almost nowhere to cement themselves as one of the top teams in the world. I say almost, because this roster is really just 2023 Team Secret, minus captain and owner Clement “Puppey” Ivanov. In Puppey’s stead sits Melchior “Seleri” Hillenkamp, also one of the greatest captains of all time.

They burst onto the scene in the wake of the post-International 2025 (TI14) roster shuffle and since then, they’ve been doing well at the top level. They capped off 2025 with a win at PGL Wallachia Season 6, proving that they are more than solid enough as a unit to win premier tournaments. Since then, however, they’ve gone back to relative mediocrity.

With a pretty clear talent and consistency difference between themselves and the likes of Team Falcons and Tundra Esports, can they make another top 3 or grand final this year?

2. PARIVISION on fraud watch

Okay, I really don’t understand what’s going on with PARIVISION. They were the best team in the world last season up until Falcons won TI14, and even then they managed to place third only after running into the red hot Xtreme Gaming in the lower bracket finals. The organization then proceeded to announce that the roster would be sticking together for the future, and by all accounts the continuity should have allowed them to keep their momentum going.

But I guess they don’t call it a sophomore slump for nothing. They haven’t been doing very well in their second year together, with the latest misstep coming in the form of losing to Navi in the BLAST Slam 6 Malta regional qualifiers. I think some blame rests with Edgar “9Class” Naltakian and his obsession with picking off-beat support heroes, which has come back to bite him and the rest of the squad on more than one occasion this season.

If they place poorly at another tier 1 tournament from here on, I’m going to start getting really worried for them. They gotta stop with the boneheaded throws, for one. It probably doesn’t help either that they’ve had a coaching change lately, with Filipe “Astini” Ribiero leaving the PARIVISION camp before the end of 2025. They’ve since tapped Puppey to replace Astini, but he’s definitely yet unproven as a coach in comparison.

3. Can OG hit that next level?

It’s a great time to be a Filipino Dota fan, because OG are running an all-Pinoy lineup that’s actually working out better than anyone (including myself) expected. Upon acquiring Team Aureus while BLAST Slam 4 was happening, OG got to work immediately at turning a mediocre team on paper into one of the most rapidly improving clubs in the entire competitive scene.

I’m not just saying this because I’m Filipino either. Teams at PGL Wallachia Season 6 were quick to note that OG were on another level compared to the rest of the field, which showed in the fact that they performed well enough to bag first place in the group stage. And although they couldn’t quite get it done in the playoffs, this team’s potential is incredibly promising, and they seem to really enjoy playing with one another.

That said, the usual Filipino Dota weaknesses are still present in OG. Coach Adam “343” Shah has done a good job so far of reining in their emotional tendencies in high pressure situations, but it hasn’t quite been enough to get them to the top. Not to worry: this team is definitely still a work in progress, and there is a clear path for them when it comes to improving well enough to become a title winning team.

4. The desolate land of North America

I had the privilege of interviewing Quinn “Quinn” Callahan at BLAST Slam 4, where I asked him for his opinion on the future of North American Dota — if there even is such a thing at this point. He flat out said “no, NA is dead”, and despite that being a boring answer, it was entirely forthcoming.

That said, GamerLegion are still around. While that doesn’t really mean anything riveting, the fact remains that they are there to represent the region wherever they go. Gone are the glory days of NA Dota, something that Quinn said as I already mentioned, but who knows? Stranger things have happened in the competitive scene, and the fact that an organization is even willing to sponsor a team from that region in this day and age has to say something.

Hopefully we don’t see the region collapse completely this year.

5. The cycle of Chinese Dota life

In a similar position is China, stripped of almost all ambition heading into the new season. Xtreme Gaming gave us all a little bit of hope for the future of the region after they made it all the way to the TI14 grand finals and almost won the whole damn thing, but the roster shuffle did little to help them get better from there.

Now, it’s just the same old story featuring the same old Chinese veterans. It’s a tale as old as time: whenever things aren’t working out for teams over there, they just trade players with one another, and repeat ad infinitum, until the heat death of the universe. It’s no secret that there isn’t any new blood coming into the Chinese scene, and any tier 2 teams that qualify to top level tournaments never truly make it past the bottom spots.

So, the storyline for China heading into the new year is going to be more or less the same as it has been for the last three years or so: if the old guard aren’t looking to hang it up any time soon, will they finally find the breakthrough that they need to bring the region back to relevancy?

6. How far can Saksa take Team Yandex?

Alongside OG, one of the biggest surprises at the start of the new season was Team Yandex. I’m not talking about their first roster, which included Aybek “TA2000” Tokayev and Alexei “Solo” Berezin — but rather the current one, which has Martin “Saksa” Sazdov calling the shots. I’ve always held the belief that both Saksa and Neta “33” Shapira are floor and ceiling raisers, and nothing proves this as far as Saksa is concerned than where Yandex are now.

They shocked the world before the end of the year by beating Team Spirit at DreamLeague Season 27. While a tournament win was certainly on the cards for this squad given their rapid development after TI14, their first place finish at DreamLeague was absolutely ahead of schedule. Technically, Saksa is still just a stand-in for this team, but at the rate they’re going, they might just sign him to a full time contract assuming his deal with Tundra Esports is about to expire.

But anyway, it’s still crazy to me how much better this guy can make almost any team. And while it’s true that the Yandex roster is still less talented on paper than some of the real heavy hitters out there, it’s entirely possible that they might get to that level before TI15 rolls around.

7. Will Nigma Galaxy reach the stars, or stay forever mid?

The everlasting story of Nigma Galaxy and their seeming inability to be more than a middling team continues through 2026, and it already hasn’t started off well.

After getting rid of TA2000 just three days before the new year, they went into the BLAST Slam 6 qualifiers with Denis “rincyq” Bogushev, a completely unproven carry from Ukraine. It went just about as well as that sounds, which is to say that they got bounced out of the first round by a team named — let me check my notes here real quick – Cheeki_breeki.

Now, this isn’t to say that Cheeki_breeki are complete nobodies. Artem “lorenof” Melnyk, Ivan “OneJey” Zhivitsky, and Egor “Xakoda” Lipartiya all play in this team. But for Nigma Galaxy to stumble at the very first hurdle when they need every tier 1 tournament appearance they can get is just the most Nigma Galaxy thing ever.

Their fans might not ever lose hope in them, but I certainly have. Losing Daniel “Ghost” last November was bad enough, but now they have to go through tryouts for a carry player again unless Amer “Miracle-” Al-Barkawi comes back. If they manage to surprise me (they won’t), I’ll maybe change my mind about them (not really). But for now, I struggle to believe that they’ll be any better than a tier 1.5 squad.

8. What’s the metagame going to look like for the season?

Valve gave us all a nice Christmas gift in the form of Patch 7.40, which has received a minor update already in the form of 7.40b. We even got an entirely new hero on top of the balance changes, though naturally Largo won’t be enabled in Captains Mode for the time being. At any rate, I’m really excited to see what teams cook up in terms of drafts and strategies.

Personally, I’m hoping that Spectre will be a big part of the metagame going forward. She’s easily my most successful hero in terms of win rate, and I just can’t get enough of her design and gameplay. She was one of the few heroes given full reworks in Patch 7.40, so I’m sure teams are eager to give her a try in professional games.

Other than that, there is definitely uncharted territory still to find in the new patch. The unknown is always tantalizing in a game like Dota 2, and what better way to ring in a new year with exactly that?