The International 2026 has reached its final stage, and the DotaScore crew is breaking down everything happening at the Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai. After a brutal Swiss-format group stage and elimination round, eight teams remain standing: TEAM VISION (PARIVISION), Nigma Galaxy, and Team Liquid secured direct playoff seeds, while Team Falcons, BoomBoys, Team Spirit, Iron Wing, and Team Yandex fought through the elimination round to join them.

In this episode, we cover:

How defending champions Team Falcons are looking as they chase back-to-back titles

Nigma Galaxy's roster gamble with SumaiL and lorenof, and whether it's paying off

Team Yandex's rise as one of this year's most dangerous new rosters

Upper and lower bracket matchups to watch as the double-elimination bracket plays out from August 20–23

Our thoughts on who's favored to lift the Aegis of Champions

No Chinese teams made it to the playoffs this year — a rare storyline in itself, and one we dig into during the episode.

Follow every match live with zero delay at https://dotascore.org/ so you can watch the bracket unfold in real time while you listen.

New episodes drop throughout the playoffs — subscribe so you don't miss our reactions all the way to the Grand Final.