Pakistan’s national Dota 2 team defeated India 2-1 to qualify for the Esports Nations Cup 2026. The victory secured Pakistan’s place in the tournament’s main event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The teams faced each other in the South and East Asia regional qualifier’s lower-bracket final. Consequently, Pakistan claimed the region’s second and final qualification spot.
Pakistan Secures Qualification After Strong Regional Campaign
Pakistan opened its campaign with a convincing 2-0 victory over Bangladesh. However, the team later suffered a 2-0 defeat against Mongolia.
India also lost 2-0 to Mongolia but remained in contention after beating Bangladesh 2-0. Therefore, Pakistan and India met in a decisive best-of-three qualifier.
Pakistan won the series 2-1 to seal qualification for the main event. Meanwhile, Mongolia finished first, Pakistan placed second, India finished third and Bangladesh ended fourth.
Pakistan’s lineup featured YawaR, ritiredota, Mr.DeviL, Ahsan and Sanity. Tultras served as the team’s coach during the regional qualifier.
Riyadh To Host Main Tournament In November
The Esports Nations Cup Dota 2 competition will take place in Riyadh from November 2 to 8. The tournament will feature 32 national teams from around the world.
The field includes 16 directly invited teams, 14 regional qualifiers and two wildcard entries. Furthermore, organisers will divide the teams into four groups of eight.
The top four teams from each group will qualify for the single-elimination playoffs. Pakistan’s victory eliminated India from the Dota 2 qualifiers, although India has separately qualified for the tournament’s Valorant event.
