FISSURE Playground 2 Power Rankings — The best teams

The runaway train known as the current Dota 2 competitive season keeps chugging along, with FISSURE Playground 2 coming hot off the heels of the BLAST Slam 4 group stage. Here we have another chance to see how all the teams coming out of the post-International 2025 (TI14) roster shuffle are doing, and whether or not their lineup changes will result in good things moving forward.

So with that in mind, it’s time to look at the power rankings for FISSURE Playground 2.

#1 — Team Falcons

Not much needs to be said about the defending International champions. They put in the kind of world class performance expected of them in the group stage of BLAST Slam 4, and the only reason they came out of it in second place instead of first is because Tundra Esports had the same record but a better Neustadtl score.

This team doesn’t look like they’re content with just resting on their laurels after bagging the Aegis of Champions, which makes them all the more dangerous in this new competitive season.

#2 — Tundra Esports

I gave Falcons the edge in this power ranking versus Tundra Esports because they’re the current world champions, but honestly it would not take much to convince me to swap their places here. Tundra impressed me greatly with their performance at BLAST Slam 4, especially considering that Matthew “Ari” Walker is playing with a championship-contending squad for the first time in his entire career.

That’s just the Matthew “Whitemon” Filemon effect, everyone. Having the best position 5 player in the world in your roster just opens up so much for your team, and Tundra are definitely enjoying his return to the squad after missing out on TI14 due to visa issues. I’m expecting them to land in the grand finals of FISSURE Playground 2 without much trouble.

#3 — PARIVISION

Another absolute heavy-hitter, PARIVISION slots into third place on my list — but it is a very close third to the two clubs above. The TI14 bronze medalists decided to withdraw from BLAST Slam 4 in order to give themselves a rest, which does knock them down ever so slightly in my eyes, but there’s just too much talent on this roster for any of that to really matter in the long run.

Actually, Alan “Satanic” Gallyamov is warmed up, because he stood in for Falcons’ carry player Oliver “skiter” Lepko in the first few days of BLAST Slam 4. So he’ll definitely be more than fine in that regard. The rest of the squad will be raring to go, and I don’t think they’ll have much rust to shake off from here.

#4 — Team Spirit

Team Spirit have gotten off to a great start with Nikita “panto” Balaganin, who has come into the team replacing Yaroslav “Miposhka” Naidenov as captain. They placed fourth out of the group stage at BLAST Slam 4, tied with HEROIC and MOUZ at seven wins and four losses. I initially had my doubts about panto and how well he would do off the back of his new contract with Spirit, but all of my fears have since been assuaged.

Sure, they didn’t do well enough to immediately secure themselves a trip to Singapore for the LAN portion, but I wouldn’t dare to call their performance disappointing or anything like that. They look ready to make up for their mediocre TI14 placement as soon as possible, and any team that faces them at FISSURE Playground 2 will have to prepare for them well.

#5 — HEROIC

I’m really getting burned for doubting HEROIC, huh? I didn’t think they’d even make it past the elimination matches at BLAST Slam 4, but here they are — looking better than ever and with a huge amount of confidence propelling them forward. Their hero pool is ridiculously deep and hard to draft against, and their comeback potential is honestly now just as good as that of Team Spirit.

Of course, the level of talent in this lineup is still below that of the top European teams, but it does seem like they’re gradually closing the gap — to the point where I wouldn’t be shocked anymore to see them make a deep run at FISSURE Playground 2.

#6 — MOUZ

One of the newest teams on the block just in terms of how many new players are on the roster, MOUZ really went into BLAST Slam 4 with guns blazing. I thought it would take this squad a while to form chemistry and feel out each other’s strengths and weaknesses, but they’ve come out of the gates much stronger than I’m sure anyone else might have anticipated.

I’m pretty much placing them in the same tier as HEROIC: scrappy, confident, and with chips on their shoulders as a club that wants to prove that they belong in the upper echelons of the competitive scene. Can they keep the momentum going at FISSURE Playground 2, though?

#7 — Aurora Gaming

Aurora Gaming will be in familiar territory on this list, as I always view them as this top 8 or top 6 team at any given premier level tournament. Their seventh place results at the BLAST Slam 4 group stage actually lines up with my placement in these power rankings, so everything tracks in that regard.

I’m still waiting for them to have their breakout performance, but given that they’re running with two new players in the form of Chan “Oli” Chon Kien and Rafli “Mikoto” Fathur Rahman, maybe that day is still a ways away after all.

#8 — Team Liquid

Well that didn’t take very long now, did it? Team Liquid have fallen off precipitously from the heights of the competitive scene after benching Jonáš “SabeRLight-” Volek and the retirement of Aydin “Insania” Sarkohi from professional play. And while both Marcus “Ace” Christensen and Erik “tOfu” Engel, the replacements for the outgoing pair, are proven commodities on the world stage, their signings haven’t resulted in anything particularly good.

I’ve harped on and on about it already, but it’s obvious that these two still need to get used to their new environment. Conversely, the other three remaining members of Liquid also have to adjust to their new teammates. I had initially anticipated that Ace and tOfu would find their groove sooner than later considering their resumes, but alas, it seems it will take more time for them to get anywhere in that regard.

As a result, I don’t expect them to make any real waves at FISSURE Playground 2. I still have them in the top 8 of my power rankings at the very least, because on paper this team should be way more competitive than they have been to start the season.

#9 — BetBoom Team

My assessment of BetBoom Team with Ilya “Kiritych” Ulyanov on board is much the same as that of Liquid: they’re still in the process of figuring out how to integrate their newest player, and their early results certainly reflect that. Kiritych is no Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko, though, so it’s entirely possible that it still wouldn’t matter in the end just because of the difference in talent.

Still, the rest of the team knows what it takes to win at the highest level. If they can bring Kiritych up with them, who knows where they might be a few months from now? For now, though, I don’t think they’ll be accomplishing anything noteworthy at FISSURE Playground 2.

#10 — Nigma Galaxy

I hate having to do this every single time, but Nigma Galaxy gets the customary midfield nod in my power rankings again. They’re two spots below where I’d usually put them, though, because apparently Ivan “MinD_ControL” Ivanov and Kirill “Hellscream” Lagutik are standing in for Tony “No!ob” Assaf and Omar “OmaR” Moughrabi for this tournament.

I’m always going to give them the chance to surprise everyone at any given time, but there’s a reason why I use that word and not another to say I’m expecting better from them. FISSURE Playground 2 will be no exception, and I can see them crashing and burning before they even hit the top 6.

The Rest

There’s really not a lot of hope for the rest of the field here. Yakult Brothers put in a terrible performance at BLAST Slam 4, and Vici Gaming are still too new for me to say anything definitive about them. Sadly, neither Xtreme Gaming nor Team Tidebound are here to help shore up China’s hopes.

Virtus.pro is probably my pick for dark horse among the rest of the participating teams given the names on their roster, but I dunno, Azel “Abed” Yusop is kind of washed if I’m being honest, and so is Tal “Fly” Aizik. Team Yandex does have Martin “Saksa” Sazdov on board as a stand-in, but that’s not going to be nearly enough for me to consider them contenders at all.