Team Liquid crush favorites in 1WIN Essence II grand final: tournament format and all the details

27.07.2026

644

16 min.

The final day of 1WIN Essence II has concluded, and it's time to wrap up the tournament.

In the opening series of the day, 1Win Team defeated BetBoom Team 2:1 but later fell to Team Liquid in the lower bracket final, ending its tournament run.

In the Grand Final, Liquid got revenge on Team Falcons for its upper bracket final defeat and confidently swept the series 3:0 to claim the championship.

Samuel Boxi Svan's squad finished the Group Stage with three victories and one draw against MOUZ. Throughout the entire tournament, the team suffered just one series defeat.

1WIN Essence II prize pool distribution:

Team Falcons - $100,000
Team Liquid - $50,000
1Win Team - $22,500
BetBoom Team - $12,500
OG - $5,000
Vici Gaming - $5,000
GamerLegion- $2,500
LGD Gaming - $2,500
MOUZ
Nigma Galaxy

Results from previous match days:

Day 1

Group A

Only two series were played in Group A on the opening day, and both ended in draws.

In the first match, MOUZ and LGD Gaming traded maps. Team Liquid then also played out a draw against MOUZ despite completely collapsing on the second map.

Group B

Team Falcons and 1Win Team finished the day as the Group B leaders after winning their matches.

Notably, Falcons closed out the second map against Vici Gaming in just 11 minutes. The Chinese squad called "GG" after losing only two towers. This map will likely remain the fastest game of the tournament.

Nigma Galaxy had the toughest opening day. The team lost both of its series and finished at the bottom of the group.

Day 2

Group A

Team Liquid and LGD Gaming sit at the top of the group after winning their respective series. Notably, GamerLegion encountered internet issues at its bootcamp and was handed a default loss in its series against LGD.

BetBoom Team comfortably defeated MOUZ 2-0 but then lost by the same score to Liquid, allowing Mike miCKe Vu to play Shadow Fiend in both games.

Group B

In Group B, Team Falcons comfortably defeated Nigma Galaxy to take first place. Notably, Nigma is currently 0-6 in maps and is at serious risk of becoming the first team eliminated from the tournament.

1Win Team and Vici Gaming drew their series to secure second and third place, respectively. Meanwhile, OG has yet to play a single map and will begin its tournament run on day three.

Day 3

Group A

BetBoom Team defeated LGD Gaming and GamerLegion to finish the day in first place, securing a spot in the upper playoff bracket. In the opening game against LGD, BB Team carry Ilya Kiritych Ulyanov played Io and finished with a 14-3-9 KDA.

Team Liquid also ended the day with a victory and remains in a strong position to qualify for the upper bracket. Meanwhile, LGD will start the playoffs in the lower bracket unless it defeats Liquid 2-0 tomorrow.

It was a difficult day for GamerLegion, which lost three series and will face MOUZ tomorrow in a decisive match for a place in the next stage.

Group B

In Group B, OG delivered an impressive performance by defeating Team Falcons 2-0 before drawing its series with 1Win Team. Notably, OG completed a comeback from a 40,000 gold deficit on the first map against the Falcons.

Tomorrow, Falcons and 1Win Team will face each other, with the winner securing a place in the upper playoff bracket.

Nigma Galaxy still has one series left against OG, but even a 2-0 victory will not be enough to keep the team in the tournament.

Day 4

Group A

LGD Gaming received a forfeit loss in its series against Team Liquid after the team competed in another tournament at the same time. As a result, Liquid and BetBoom Team secured the top two spots and advanced to the upper bracket of the playoffs.

LGD and GamerLegion will compete in the lower bracket after GamerLegion defeated MOUZ in the decisive match for a playoff berth. Notably, the second game of the series lasted just 24 minutes, with the North American squad dominating from start to finish.

Group B

Team Falcons finished first in Group B after defeating 1Win Team 2:0. Across both games, the Falcons' carry and offlaner died only three times combined.

The match of the day was the showdown between OG and Vici Gaming, where the Chinese team completed two remarkable comebacks after overcoming deficits of more than 15,000 gold on each map. That victory secured Vici Gaming a place in the upper playoff bracket.

Nigma Galaxy drew its series against OG, but it wasn't enough to stay in the tournament, as the team had lost all of its previous matches without taking a single map.

Day 5

Team Liquid and Team Falcons secured their spots in the Upper Bracket final, sending Vici Gaming and BetBoom Team to the Lower Bracket. It’s worth noting that Falcons secured victories on two maps with identical picks.

1WIN Team and OG advanced to the lower bracket quarterfinals, eliminating LGD Gaming and GamerLegion from the tournament, respectively. Both teams secured extremely convincing victories.

Day 6

The second day of the playoffs at 1WIN Essence II has come to a close, and it’s time to summarize the results.

Team Falcons crushed Team Liquid in the match to determine who would advance to the tournament’s grand final. 1WIN Team and BetBoom Team advanced to the lower bracket semifinals after eliminating Vici Gaming and OG from the tournament. It’s worth noting that 1WIN Team players Božidar bzm Bogdanov and Matthew Whitemon Filemon have reached the milestone of 500 maps played together—their win rate during this stretch stands at 61.2%.

The tournament champion will be decided tomorrow. Since the match between BetBoom Team and 1WIN Team has been rescheduled for tomorrow, the winning team could play 11 maps in a single day if two full Bo3 series and a Bo5 in the grand final take place.

Group Distribution

Group A

Group A will feature BetBoom Team, GamerLegion, LGD Gaming, MOUZ, and Team Liquid. The clear favorite in the group is BB Team, which finished as runner-up at the Esports World Cup 2026. It’s also highly likely that LGD Gaming and Team Liquid will advance to the playoffs. GamerLegion and MOUZ face a tough battle for a spot in the main stage.

Group B

Group B will feature 1WIN Team, Nigma Galaxy, OG, Team Falcons, and Vici Gaming. Team Falcons and 1WIN Team are considered the strongest teams in the group. Nigma Galaxy, which performed quite confidently at the EWC 2026, may surprise everyone in this competition as well. OG and Vici Gaming are the underdogs of the group.

Bookmakers' predictions for the tournament winner

Predictions and betting odds

The online tournament 1WIN Essence II is set to begin soon and is expected to serve as a valuable warm-up event for teams ahead of The International 2026, while also giving them a chance to compete for a substantial $200,000 prize pool following an increase by the organizers.

According to bookmakers, BetBoom Team enters the tournament as the favorite. The team recently finished runner-up at the Esports World Cup 2026, losing only to PARIVISION in the grand final. Earlier, BB Team also secured a top-three finish at BLAST SLAM VII.

Their closest challenger is Team Falcons, which has delivered average results over the past six months but remains the reigning The International 2025 champion. In addition, the team has often found its best form as the biggest tournament of the year approaches.

Rounding out the top three favorites is 1Win Team, whose players competed for Tundra Esports until recently. This year, the team has produced better results than the Falcons, winning ESL One Birmingham 2026 and DreamLeague Season 28.

Team Liquid, Nigma Galaxy, Vici Gaming and LGD Gaming have all received odds above 10 to win the tournament, reflecting significantly lower expectations from bookmakers. Nevertheless, Vici finished in the top four at the EWC 2026, while LGD reached the grand final of BLAST SLAM VII.

GamerLegion and OG are considered the biggest outsiders by bookmakers. Although both teams regularly compete at top-tier tournaments, they often fail to reach the top eight.

Below are the bookmakers' odds and the implied probability of victory for every team.

BetBoom Team — 2.30 (43.48%)
Team Falcons — 3.60 (27.78%)
1WIN Team — 6.60 (15.15%)
Team Liquid — 10.00 (10.00%)
Nigma Galaxy — 14.00 (7.14%)
Vici Gaming — 17.00 (5.88%)
LGD Gaming — 20.00 (5.00%)
MOUZ — 35.00 (2.86%)
OG — 50.00 (2.00%)
GamerLegion — 60.00 (1.67%)

Tournament Format:

1WIN ESSENCE II was an online tournament held from 30.07.2026 to 05.08.2026. Twelve teams competed for a $200,000 prize pool.

The Group Stage followed a Round-Robin format with two groups of six teams, with all matches played as Bo2 series. The top four teams from each group advanced to the playoffs, while the bottom-placed team from each group was eliminated.

The Playoffs took place from 03.08.2026 to 05.08.2026. All matches were played in a Bo3 format, except for the Grand Final, which was contested as a Bo5.