via GRAPHIC PLUS — At the upcoming Dota 2 competition, there are three obvious favorites – Tundra, Liquid, and Yandex. However, the dark horses of PGL Wallachia Season 8 shouldn’t be written off. 1xBet review takes a look at five teams that, given the right circumstances, could realistically take gold in Bucharest.
Team Spirit
Team Spirit’s chances of winning have noticeably dropped after their main offlaner, Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov, announced he would miss the tournament for personal reasons. He will be replaced by Bohdan “Batyuk” Batiuk, who previously played for Passion UA and is unlikely to match the experience of a two-time The International champion.
Still, the rest of the squad, Yatoro, Larl, rue, and panto, have enough skills, so they are capable of winning Wallachia S8 even with a stand-in.
Team Falcons
Falcons had a frankly disappointing start to the season, failing to finish higher than fifth place in all four competitions they participated in. At PGL Wallachia Season 7, they won only one of four group-stage matches, finishing 12th.
However, it’s worth noting that Team Falcons are the reigning world champions, having defeated Tundra and Liquid in the group stage of The International 2025. The roster has remained unchanged since its formation, making them highly coordinated and capable of popping off in Bucharest.
PARIVISION
The last time this team won a major tournament was almost a year ago – after their victory at DreamLeague Season 26, they haven’t reached a grand final even once. At the start of the current season, PARIVISION lost their experienced offlaner, Dmitry “DM” Dorokhin, and replaced him with the relatively unknown Valery “SSS” Lazarev. However, two key factors are working in the team’s favor.
First, their roster still includes the brightest young star of the professional scene – Alan “Satanic” Gallyamov. Second, at the beginning of the season, the legendary Clement “Puppey” Ivanov took over as head coach, having won the very first The International 2011 with NAVI. This combination could well pay off now.
NAVI
NAVI are the leading candidates for the title of the tournament’s ultimate “dark horse”. According to 1xBet, the team isn’t even among the top 10 favorites for PGL Wallachia Season 8. However, these players have already proven that luck is on their side. Just a year ago, they were playing under the NAVI Junior banner, but after NAVI failed to qualify for The International 2025, they were promoted to the main roster.
There’s no doubt about NAVI’s skill either – at the season’s opening tournament, BLAST Slam VI, they took silver, defeating top teams like Tundra, Falcons, and Yandex along the way. If luck favors them again, they could well become champions.
Xtreme Gaming
The Chinese squad spent all of last year without a single major victory, with their only highlight being a runner-up finish at The International 2025. However, Xtreme Gaming has at least one trump card – Wang “Ame” Chunyu.
The biggest Chinese star earned the unofficial nickname the Uncrowned King, as Ame has played in three world championship grand finals (2018, 2021, 2025) but has never managed to claim the title. Their underdog status might help the team shake off the pressure – perhaps luck will finally be on their side and grant them a smooth path to the grand final.
PGL Wallachia Season 8 will be held from April 16 to April 26. A total of 16 organizations will compete for a $1,000,000 prize pool. Don’t miss the only top-tier Dota 2 tournament in April!
