PlayTime is the fourteenth and final team to secure a direct invite to the Dota 2 Esports World Cup.
South American squad PlayTime, formerly competing under the paiN Gaming banner, has secured a direct invitation to the Esports World Cup 2026 Dota 2 Tournament, completing the list of direct invites for the marquee event.
The team earned enough ESL Pro Tour points after upsetting BetBoom Team at the ongoing DreamLeague Season 29 last night. The statement victory saw PlayTime advance into the Top 6 of the tournament, guaranteeing enough points to overtake Natus Vincere on the EPT leaderboard.
PlayTime becomes the only South American team to receive a direct invitation to the Dota 2 event at the Esports World Cup 2026. The US$2 million tournament, running as part of a multi-title mega event, was recently confirmed to take place in Paris, France, and will run from 6 to 18 July.
Here is PlayTime’s current Dota 2 roster:
- Wits
- Gonzalo “DarkMago” Herrera
- Frank “Frank” Arias
- Elvis “Scofield” De la Cruz Peña
- Yelstin “elmisho” Verde
Who are the Dota 2 EWC direct invitees?
PlayTime joins twelve other directly invited teams for the Dota 2 EWC: Team Spirit, Tundra Esports, PARIVISION, Xtreme Gaming, Aurora Gaming, Team Yandex, Team Falcons, Team Liquid, BetBoom Team, MOUZ, OG, and Virtus.pro.
Vici Gaming has already won the China qualifier earlier this month to secure its spot at the event. Ten more squads from the remaining regional qualifiers will complete the tournament lineup, bringing the total number of participating teams to 24.
How PlayTime secured the Dota 2 EWC direct invite
PlayTime’s road to a direct invite has been anything but smooth. The squad entered the tournament with barely any EPT points, carrying over crumbs earned earlier this season while competing under the paiN Gaming banner.
The team also endured a difficult start to the Group Stage at DreamLeague Season 29, finishing with three wins and four losses–just enough to squeeze into the Lower Bracket route for the Playoffs.
Since then, however, PlayTime has shown tremendous improvement. The team began its Playoffs run by eliminating group leader Natus Vincere 2-1 before taking down the far more established BetBoom Team, who won PGL Wallachia Season 8 just a month ago, in similar fashion.
With this result, PlayTime has secured at least a Top 6 finish at DreamLeague Season 29, guaranteeing 2,200 EPT points from the tournament alone. This total not only propelled them above Natus Vincere, but also ahead of Virtus.pro and OG on the EPT leaderboard.
However, PlayTime’s run is far from over. The team still has the potential to climb even higher, with its next challenge coming later today against the formidable Team Falcons.
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