Stage 1 of the Ukrainian Championship 2026 in Dota 2 has concluded, wrapping up several weeks of intense competition. During this time, teams made their way from open qualifiers to the grand final to determine the winner of Stage 1 and split the 100,000 UAH prize pool.
The winner of the first stage was NAVI Junior, who defeated Team Hryvnia 2:1 in the grand final. Team Hryvnia took silver, while Nadbavka and Anchors rounded out the top four.
The teams split the prize pool as follows:
- 50,000 UAH — 1st place
- 30,000 UAH — 2nd place
- 10,000 UAH each — 3rd and 4th place
Stage 1 in Dota 2 served as the starting point for the entire Ukrainian Championship 2026. This stage kicked off the teams’ tournament journey: open qualifiers, group stage, and playoffs. The same format will be maintained in the championship’s following stages, where teams will go through this path once again.
Selection for the main stage began with four open qualifiers. Matches were played in a Double Elimination format, where a team was eliminated after two losses. Most games were played in Best-of-One, while the decisive series for advancing to the group stage were Best-of-Three.
Four teams advanced from each qualifier to the group stage, forming a total of 16 participants. For many teams, it wasn’t a single attempt: the regulations allowed participation in multiple qualifiers until a team secured its spot in the groups.
Qualifiers
The first tickets to the group stage were decided during the first qualifier, where 15 teams competed. One of the most convincing performances came from NAVI Junior, who confidently made their way through the bracket, successively beating Wild Jungle, Team Hryvnia, and Magelan.
NAVI Junior’s manager, Kyrylo “qmis1k” Romanikhin, noted that the team saw the tournament as a chance to test their abilities from the very start: “As soon as we saw the announcement, it was clear this was a good opportunity to test our skills.”
Despite the fact that a significant portion of participants competed as mixed rosters, the matches remained competitive and engaging. According to qmis1k, this didn’t reduce interest in the tournament: “Overall, even though most teams were mixes, it was fun to play.” The team also expressed hope that, over time, more fully formed organizations with established rosters would appear on the Ukrainian scene, making national tournaments even more competitive.
A spot was also secured by 5vGod, who defeated team_montann, team_Bully_Seed, and team_kolasckreem. However, in the upper bracket final, the team lost to NAVI Junior, and in the subsequent fight for seeding, they faced them once again in the lower bracket final.
Team Hryvnia, after defeating Sho Counter Pick in the upper bracket, lost to NAVI Junior, but managed to fight back through the lower bracket. There, the team confidently beat team_Fire175, Lviv Vendetta, and team_kolasckreem, allowing them to finish the qualifier in fourth place and advance to the group stage.
Team manager Ivan “kurata” shared that the decision to participate in the qualifier was made quickly after the tournament was announced: “We saw the news about the open qualifiers, and the team decided to play right away. Everyone was motivated and wanted to show their best game.”
According to him, the tournament journey itself turned out to be eventful and interesting, as many familiar players were among the participants. Even though the team played part of their matches with substitutes, they managed to qualify successfully.
“There were quite a few teams with players we know, so it was a really interesting and great experience. We made it through the qualifiers successfully, even while playing several matches with substitutes,” kurata noted.
The team also pointed out that the level of opponents at the qualifying stage varied, but a more serious level of competition was already noticeable at the main stage of the tournament.
“The level of teams at the qualifiers was average, but at the main stage you could already feel that the teams who made it through have competitive Dota 2 experience and approach match preparation responsibly,” the manager added.
Team Hryvnia also expressed a desire to continue participating in future tournaments and qualifiers to keep developing the competitive Ukrainian esports scene.
Another spot went to Sho Counter Pick. The team started the tournament with a loss in their first match but managed to fight their way through a tough lower bracket run, defeating Wild Jungle, team_Aeroplane, and team_Bully_Seeed. They lost their Best-of-Three series against NAVI Junior, but still advanced to the groups due to a technical loss by Magelan.
In the second qualifier, which also featured 15 teams, the lineup included squads that hadn’t managed to qualify on their first attempt.
One of the main discoveries of the qualifier was QQ Team. Team player Oleksii “BafiK” Bafadarov shared his impressions of the tournament: “We got an incredible rush of emotions. Despite the blackouts and the unstable situation in the country, the admins were great — they were always accommodating and helpful,” said the Maincast studio talent. At the tournament, QQ Team confidently won their early rounds, beating EasyGaming, and later defeated Nadbavka in a Best-of-Three series. In the upper bracket final, the team beat 1000 claymores, securing their spot in the group stage.
1000 claymores had previously shown consistent play, winning against Natus Perdere, Lviv Vendetta, and Sebeki Last Dance. After losing in the upper bracket final, the team regrouped in the lower bracket and beat Nadbavka, securing their second spot.
Nadbavka started the qualifier with two wins, against team_lowtabmain and Doka Party. After losing to QQ Team, the team continued fighting through the lower bracket, beating Ofis Prezidenta and EasyGaming, but lost to 1000 claymores in the lower bracket final, finishing third.
Team player Mykhailo “kayaoff” Lehkyi shared that the team actively participates in national tournaments and had no intention of skipping the championship qualifier. According to him, the team was generally satisfied with their performance overall, though the final matches left a bit of disappointment.
During the decisive games, the team ran into technical difficulties — their midlaner had power issues, which prevented the roster from fully realizing its potential in the match.
“There’s a bit of disappointment over the semifinal — our midlaner had power problems, so we couldn’t put up a full fight against our opponent. There was also a situation with a ward bug, but we decided not to drag the game out even longer,” kayaoff explained.
Despite this, the team noted the organizers’ leniency regarding delays and substitutions during matches. Nadbavka plan to continue participating in the championship and compete in the second stage with the same roster.
Assessing the level of opponents, the player noted that most teams were roughly at the same level, although some squads stood out due to more consistent preparation.
It’s also worth noting the tournament’s partners — the Cyberion esports club network, which helped create comfortable conditions for participants during prolonged power outages. As part of the partnership, teams competing in the Championship could hold practices or matches at Cyberion clubs with a special 50% discount.
The fourth spot went to EasyGaming, who, after losing to QQ Team, managed to fight through the lower bracket, beating Natus Perdere, TribuPon, and Sebeki Last Dance, but ultimately lost to Nadbavka.
Only 10 teams took part in the third qualifier. The most convincing performance came from 4penguins and blackdrago, who went through the upper bracket, defeating Ofis Prezidenta and Anchors.
Alongside them, Sebeki Last Dance, Anchors, and PEREKUR advanced to the group stage. Sebeki Last Dance reached the upper bracket final, where they lost to the “penguins,” Anchors secured a decisive lower bracket win over Doka Party, and PEREKUR, after losing to Sebeki Last Dance, got their revenge against Wild Jungle.
Anchors player Ivan “Ikigai” Kulhuk shared that the team learned about the tournament from announcements on streamers’ Telegram channels, after which they quickly put together a roster for the qualifier.
According to him, the team was overall satisfied with the tournament: the matches were dynamic, and the competition between teams was fairly even. At the same time, the team noted that occasional changes to match times during the tournament sometimes created inconvenience for preparation.
Anchors also plan to continue participating in the championship and compete in the next stage with the same roster. “Of course we’ll keep playing — we’ll come back even stronger,” Ikigai noted.
Assessing the level of opponents, he added that most teams were roughly at the same level, although some squads stood out due to more consistent preparation.
The final spots were decided during the fourth qualifier, which featured 15 teams — the last chance to make it into the groups.
The best result came from Sebeki Rejects, who dominated the upper bracket, defeating Dual Rapiers Team, Doka Party, and, in the decisive Best-of-Three, Bada Bing.
Bada Bing also advanced to the group stage after wins over Team Bully_Seeed and Ofis Prezidenta, despite losing in the upper bracket final.
Two more spots went to Ofis Prezidenta and Doka Party. Ofis Prezidenta, after losing in the upper bracket, fought their way through a tough lower bracket run, knocking out Lviv Vendetta and Wild Jungle, while Doka Party, after losing to Sebeki Rejects, managed to defeat Sho Counter Pick.
Group Stage
Following the qualifiers, 16 teams advanced to the group stage, split into four groups. All matches were played in a Best-of-Three format, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the playoffs. NAVI Junior won Group A, while Sebeki Last Dance finished in second place. In Group B, Nadbavka delivered the best result, followed by Bada Bing. Anchors topped Group C, with QQ Team finishing second. In Group D, Team Hryvnia took first place, while 4penguins and blackdrago secured the second playoff spot.
Playoff
The playoffs began with the quarterfinals, where NAVI Junior confidently beat 4penguins and blackdrago. In another tense series, Anchors pulled off a comeback against Bada Bing, winning the match 2:1. The third quarterfinal also proved challenging: Team Hryvnia beat Sebeki Last Dance in a tense match, 2:1. The final semifinal spot was won by Nadbavka, who defeated QQ Team in yet another tense series, 2:1. In the semifinals, NAVI Junior confidently beat Nadbavka and became the first finalists. The second semifinal between Anchors and Team Hryvnia turned out to be much tenser. Anchors managed to take one map, but Team Hryvnia ground out the win and secured their spot in the final.
The grand final between NAVI Junior and Team Hryvnia became the climax of all of Stage 1. The first map went to NAVI Junior, but Team Hryvnia quickly responded, evening the series. The decisive third map became the tensest of the tournament: the teams repeatedly traded the advantage, and the fight continued down to the final minutes. In the end, NAVI Junior managed to win the key team fight and close out the series 2:1, becoming champions of Stage 1 of the Ukrainian Championship 2026 in Dota 2.
The first stage of the Ukrainian Championship took place under difficult conditions, and some teams were unable to join the competition due to objective circumstances — including power supply issues and other difficulties. At the same time, the tournament showed that the Ukrainian scene has significant potential, with many teams ready to compete at the national level. Ahead lies the second stage of the Ukrainian Championship, with registration for the first qualifier already open.
The Ukrainian Esports Federation invites teams to join, take the opportunity to prove themselves in the open qualifiers, and become part of the development of the Ukrainian esports scene.
