Team Yandex Crowned PGL Wallachia Season 9 Champions with 3-0 Grand Final Win over Natus Vincere

Team Yandex closed PGL Wallachia Season 9 with a 3-0 victory over Natus Vincere in the grand final on September 27, 2026, in Bucharest, Romania. The result earned Team Yandex the Dota 2 championship at an event with a total prize pool of $1,000,000. Natus Vincere finished second with $175,000, while LGD Gaming placed third after losing to Natus Vincere in the lower-bracket final. PGL lists the tournament dates as September 19-27 and identifies PGL Studios as the venue. (pglesports.com)

The title match ended a four-day playoff stage in which eight teams advanced from a Swiss group stage into a double-elimination bracket. Playoff series were best-of-three except for the best-of-five grand final. The format gave teams a route back after one loss in the upper bracket, but required the eventual champion to keep winning against increasingly difficult opposition. Team Yandex used the upper-bracket route to reach the final, while Natus Vincere had to advance through the lower bracket after losing to LGD Gaming in its opening playoff series. (pglesports.com)

The second day of the playoffs featured two upper-bracket semifinals: LGD Gaming against Xtreme Gaming and Aurora Gaming against Team Yandex. LGD Gaming won 2-0, while Team Yandex defeated Aurora Gaming 2-1. In the lower bracket, GamerLegion beat 1win Team 2-1, and Natus Vincere advanced with a 2-1 win over Team Nemesis. Those results sent LGD Gaming and Team Yandex onward in the upper bracket, while the losing teams faced elimination pressure in the lower bracket. (dotesports.com)

The Team Yandex-Aurora Gaming series illustrated the volatility of a best-of-three. Aurora Gaming took the opening game but could not carry that advantage through the rest of the series. Team Yandex won the next two games, in 25 and 18 minutes according to match data, to secure the 2-1 result. The victory kept Team Yandex on the upper-bracket path to the final and sent Aurora Gaming to the lower bracket. It also confirms the team assignments: Ammar “ATF” al-Assaf represented Team Yandex, while skiter played for Aurora Gaming. The former teammates were on opposing sides of the series. (dota2protracker.com)

In the other upper-bracket semifinal, LGD Gaming delivered a 2-0 win over Xtreme Gaming. The matchup between the two Chinese teams directly affected the top-three race. LGD Gaming reached the upper-bracket final and secured at least a third-place finish, while Xtreme Gaming dropped to the lower bracket, where another loss would end its tournament. The sweep was an important result for LGD Gaming, though the score alone does not establish that the team had surpassed every opponent or would maintain the same form against teams from other regions. (dotesports.com)

Natus Vincere and GamerLegion had contrasting lower-bracket runs. GamerLegion eliminated 1win Team after three games. The official final standings placed 1win Team joint seventh-eighth with Team Nemesis, rather than assigning it an isolated eighth place. Natus Vincere also defeated Team Nemesis 2-1 on the day to remain alive. The close series underlined the pressure of best-of-three play: two game wins are enough to advance, but a mistake at a decisive point can end a team’s run. (dotesports.com)

In the opening playoff round on September 24, Xtreme Gaming beat Team Nemesis 2-0; LGD Gaming defeated Natus Vincere 2-1; Aurora Gaming swept GamerLegion 2-0; and Team Yandex beat 1win Team 2-0. Under the double-elimination format, the losing teams were not immediately eliminated and received another opportunity in the lower bracket. That gave Natus Vincere a chance to recover after its loss to LGD Gaming, while requiring the team to win a succession of elimination matches. Aurora Gaming and Xtreme Gaming faced a similar route after their upper-bracket defeats. (dotesports.com)

On September 26, Xtreme Gaming and Natus Vincere both won in the lower bracket. Xtreme Gaming defeated GamerLegion 2-0, and Natus Vincere eliminated Aurora Gaming by the same score. In the upper-bracket final, Team Yandex beat LGD Gaming 2-0 to qualify directly for the grand final. LGD Gaming dropped to the lower bracket, where it would face Natus Vincere. Natus Vincere then beat Xtreme Gaming 2-0, moving one series away from a rematch with Team Yandex. Aurora Gaming and GamerLegion finished joint fifth-sixth. (dotesports.com)

The lower-bracket final took place on September 27 between LGD Gaming and Natus Vincere. Natus Vincere won 2-1, completing a survival run after falling to the lower bracket in the opening playoff round. The result set up a grand-final meeting with Team Yandex, but the additional matches had given Natus Vincere a longer route through the bracket. LGD Gaming finished third and earned $120,000. That was a strong final placement in a 16-team event, even though the team could not stop Team Yandex in the upper-bracket final or Natus Vincere in the lower-bracket final. (dotesports.com)

The grand final was a rematch between Team Yandex and Natus Vincere, who had also met during the group stage. Team Yandex won the best-of-five series 3-0, denying its opponent a game. The final score made Team Yandex champion and Natus Vincere runner-up. The published series record confirms the 3-0 result and the September 27 match date. Detailed game statistics were not available on the results page consulted, so kill totals, gold differences and fight-by-fight accounts should not be inferred. (blast.tv)

Team Yandex received $300,000 from the $1,000,000 prize pool. Natus Vincere earned $175,000 for second place; LGD Gaming received $120,000 for third; and Xtreme Gaming took $80,000 for fourth. Aurora Gaming and GamerLegion shared fifth-sixth and earned $60,000 each. Team Nemesis and 1win Team shared seventh-eighth, receiving $40,000 each. Since the final table groups several teams into shared placements, the results should not be presented as separate finishing positions within those tied groups. (offstage.gg)

Team Yandex’s roster at the event consisted of Alimzhan “watson” Islambekov, Ilya “CHIRA_JUNIOR” Chirtsov, Ammar “ATF” al-Assaf, Martin “Saksa” Sazdov and Arman “Malady” Orazbaev. ATF’s listing with Team Yandex matters when checking accounts of the series against Aurora Gaming. skiter represented Aurora Gaming, which won the opening game but lost the series 1-2. Correctly separating the player who won a game from the team that won the series is important in short recaps, especially when a standout performance receives more attention than the final match result. (offstage.gg)

PGL Wallachia Season 9 opened with a Swiss group stage from September 19-23, followed by playoffs from September 24-27. Team Yandex and Xtreme Gaming both finished the group stage 3-0, with six wins and one game loss apiece. Natus Vincere and Aurora Gaming finished 3-1, as did GamerLegion. LGD Gaming, Team Nemesis and 1win Team earned the remaining playoff places after advancing through the decisive group-stage round. The Swiss structure required teams to collect enough series wins before moving into the elimination bracket. (dotesports.com)

The event was shaped not only by the 3-0 final, but also by Team Yandex’s results through the bracket. The team beat 1win Team in the opening playoff round, recovered after losing game one to Aurora Gaming, and then defeated LGD Gaming in both the upper-bracket semifinal and upper-bracket final. Team Yandex closed the event with its victory over Natus Vincere. That sequence provides the direct competitive basis for the championship; broader claims about long-term strength require results across more than one tournament. (dotesports.com)

Natus Vincere’s runner-up finish came through a longer lower-bracket route. After losing to LGD Gaming in the opening round, the team defeated Team Nemesis, Aurora Gaming and Xtreme Gaming before eliminating LGD Gaming in the lower-bracket final. The double-elimination system offered a recovery path, but Natus Vincere had to win more series than Team Yandex before meeting the team again in the final. Natus Vincere did not take a game in the championship match, but still finished second and earned $175,000. (dotesports.com)

LGD Gaming also recorded two 2-0 wins, first against Natus Vincere and then against Xtreme Gaming. The team later lost to Team Yandex in the upper-bracket final and to Natus Vincere in the lower-bracket final. The final standings put LGD Gaming third and Xtreme Gaming fourth. Those are confirmed end-of-event placements, not positions that were already guaranteed after the second playoff day. Distinguishing a secured top-three berth from the final ranking is essential when reporting on a tournament before all playoff matches have been completed. (offstage.gg)

Aurora Gaming was eliminated after losing to Team Yandex in the upper bracket and then falling 0-2 to Natus Vincere in the lower bracket. Aurora Gaming had opened its playoff run with a 2-0 victory over GamerLegion. The final standings placed Aurora Gaming joint fifth-sixth with GamerLegion. The route shows why winning an opening game or an early series does not guarantee a deeper finish: the double-elimination structure provides a second chance, but a team sent to the lower bracket faces immediate elimination in every subsequent match. (dotesports.com)

GamerLegion followed a similar path and finished in the same placement group as Aurora Gaming. The team lost 0-2 to Aurora Gaming in its opening series, then beat 1win Team 2-1 in the lower bracket to stay in the event. GamerLegion was subsequently eliminated by Xtreme Gaming, which won 2-0. 1win Team also exited after its loss to GamerLegion; the official standings placed the team joint seventh-eighth with Team Nemesis. Its result should therefore be described as a shared placement rather than an independent eighth-place finish. (dotesports.com)

PGL Wallachia Season 9 was held in Bucharest, Romania, with 16 teams competing for a $1,000,000 prize pool. PGL lists a Swiss group stage and double-elimination playoffs, with a best-of-five grand final. Those details provide context for Team Yandex’s title: the championship followed a nine-day event, rather than a single final match in isolation. The result pages do not establish the event’s commercial impact, audience size or subsequent roster changes. Those subjects require separate evidence and should not be inferred from the standings alone. (pglesports.com)

One important reporting detail is the accuracy of the team assignments. Tournament records list ATF with Team Yandex and skiter with Aurora Gaming. The teams met in the upper-bracket semifinal on September 25, and Team Yandex won 2-1 after losing the first game. This aligns with the bracket, which advanced Team Yandex and sent Aurora Gaming to the lower bracket. Accounts placing ATF on Aurora Gaming or saying Aurora Gaming won the series conflict with the published roster and match result. (dotesports.com)

Across the playoff bracket, Team Yandex maintained the upper-bracket advantage and finished the tournament with three consecutive wins in its final matches. Natus Vincere demonstrated resilience through the lower bracket, but its run ended against a Team Yandex side that did not drop a game in the grand final. LGD Gaming secured third, Xtreme Gaming fourth, while Aurora Gaming and GamerLegion shared the next placement group. These are conclusions from the final standings, not forecasts about results at future events. (blast.tv)

PGL Wallachia Season 9 concluded on September 27, 2026, with Team Yandex as champion. Natus Vincere finished second after defeating LGD Gaming in the lower-bracket final; LGD Gaming and Xtreme Gaming placed third and fourth. The 3-0 grand-final score was the tournament’s final result. Earlier key matches included Team Yandex’s 2-1 win over Aurora Gaming, its 2-0 victories over Xtreme Gaming and LGD Gaming in the upper bracket, and Natus Vincere’s 2-1 win over LGD Gaming. With the final standings confirmed, Team Yandex left Bucharest with the title and $300,000 in prize money. (blast.tv)