FISSURE Universe Episode 5 Power Rankings

There truly is no time to breathe in the world of professional Dota 2 anymore, because FISSURE Universe Episode 5 is about to start, hot off the heels of PGL Wallachia Season 5. Unlike Wallachia, though, FISSURE Universe will be played entirely online, and will offer just a fourth of the total prize pool at $250,000.

Nevertheless, this tournament will serve as a small preview of Dota 2 at the Esports World Cup (EWC), which starts just five days after the end of FISSURE Universe Episode 5. And although this competition in particular will pale in comparison to the EWC, there’s still quite a bit here to play for as squads try to gather momentum for what could very well turn out to be the biggest tournament of the season. Well, provided that Valve doesn’t put out a battle pass for The International, that is.

But anyway, I’m here to run down the teams that will play at FISSURE Universe, and how well they might stack up against each other.

#1 — PARIVISION

The Dota 2 world hasn’t seen PARIVISION play in exactly a month now. They last participated at DreamLeague Season 26, where they won the whole thing without breaking a sweat. And even though they might have a bit of rust on them after taking a month-long break, I still don’t believe for a second that anyone else in this tournament in particular can beat them, with one possible exception which I’ll get to in a bit.

🌚 Did you miss us? Then we have good news for you!

🔥 We'll be playing FISSURE Universe: Episode 5 from July 1 to July 4 pic.twitter.com/RxgOFLBfAj

— PARIVISION (@parivisiongg) June 23, 2025

This squad just has it all: drafting, execution, decision making, unorthodox strategies when they need them — you name it, the roster has it in spades. They don’t really suffer from inconsistency as much as other tier 1 clubs do, either, so it’s not like they’re going to choke very often. In fact, they’re probably the most consistent squad in the entire Dota scene right now, which is just scary to think about on top of everything else they’ve got going on.

#2 — Team Liquid

Team Liquid were supposed to three-peat at PGL Wallachia Season 5 given how good they looked in the playoffs, but unfortunately had their plans to do so derailed by Aydin “Insania” Sarkohi’s sudden illness on the final day of play. They had to take on Matthew “Ari” Walker as a last minute substitute for him, and it was clear from there that they weren’t in a position to make it to the grand final.

If Insania is well enough to play at FISSURE Universe Episode 5 though, I personally think they can potentially knock out PARIVISION if they clash in the championship match. The new metagame seems to suit them very well; it’s just a matter of not getting in their own heads and executing like everyone knows they can.

#3 — Gaimin Gladiators

I know it seems crazy to put the PGL Wallachia Season 5 second placers below Liquid in these rankings, but frankly, I don’t really care. Gaimin Gladiators have shown yet again that they’re incapable of finishing the job when they make it to the final round of a major tournament — something that they don’t seem to have much trouble with these days. In fact, that was their third appearance in a LAN grand final this season, and they still couldn’t get it done even with the “third time’s the charm” buff.

They’re going to be a serious threat at FISSURE Universe, don’t get me wrong — but I’m not so sure they’re a threat to win the whole thing.

#4 — Aurora Gaming

Aurora Gaming had a great start at PGL Wallachia Season 5, going 3-1 in the Swiss group stage where they even beat Tundra Esports in two out of three games. Unfortunately, things fell apart from there, as they lost whatever mojo they carried from the group stage when the playoffs began. They got crushed by Liquid after winning the first game of their upper bracket series, then failed to get past Team Spirit in the first elimination round.

🫤 PGL WALLACHIA SEASON 5 IS OVER. We are leaving the tournament in 7th-8th place.

🫡 Without further words and excuses. We will prepare for the upcoming EWC 2025, which starts already on July 8, to show our best Dota.

Thanks to everyone who cheered for us and continues to do… pic.twitter.com/m07WfXg7ap

— Aurora Dota2 (@AuroraDota2_GG) June 27, 2025

Even with the disappointing end to Wallachia, though, I still think this team is more than good enough to break the top 4 at any tournament they play in. They’re still figuring things out as they go, but they are getting better and better as time goes by.

#5 — Team Tidebound

On the other hand, Team Tidebound didn’t get off to the start they were hoping for at Wallachia, as they were eliminated from the group stage after a closely-contested tiebreaker match between themselves and eventual champions BetBoom Team. Instead of going to the playoffs, they had to watch on from the sidelines as their fellow Chinese team Xtreme Gaming advanced to the bracket stage — something which is starting to worry me more and more as we get closer to the EWC and TI14.

Still, this roster undoubtedly has the talent and experience to make a deep run at FISSURE Universe. The right form of Team Tidebound just has to show up when it matters, so it’s up to them to get themselves in the best shape mentally before the competition starts.

#6 — Nigma Galaxy

I’m getting real tired of always having to put Nigma Galaxy in spots like this, but I have to because they haven’t shown anything that would move them up anywhere past the middle of the pack at any given tournament. Their poor showing at Wallachia Season 5 (14th place!) made that all the more apparent.

They’re still better than most other qualifier-tier teams out in the scene right now, but honestly, who knows which Nigma will show up at FISSURE Universe? Probably not the one that placed joint third/fourth at BLAST Slam 2 in February, I’ll tell you that. I sincerely hope Nigma fans are okay.

The Rest

As usual, there’s the rest of the field that isn’t likely to even sniff the top four spots here. HEROIC are the most probable dark horse, as we’ve previously seen them upset a few top teams here and there.

Shopify Rebellion, Team Yandex, and AVULUS basically have no shot, though, with the last squad in particular looking like a complete patchwork of players from wildly different backgrounds. Their failure to qualify for both EWC and TI14 told me everything I needed to know about this current AVULUS incarnation, and so I don’t have even the slightest bit of confidence in them at FISSURE Universe.