Natus Vincere Xtreme Gaming and GamerLegion Won Their Opening Matches as PGL Wallachia Began
The one million dollar Dota Two event had already been pushed back by two days before its Swiss group stage finally started in Bucharest.
PGL Wallachia Season 9 began at the PGL studios in Bucharest on 19 September 2026, with Natus Vincere, Xtreme Gaming and GamerLegion all winning their opening Swiss matches 2-0.
Natus Vincere beat Hokori without dropping a game, Xtreme Gaming did the same to Pibbles Corp and GamerLegion saw off Team Cobra by the same margin. Conventus Stellarum needed three games to get past PlayTime, winning 2-1.
Sixteen invited teams are competing. The Swiss group stage runs until 23 September 2026 and the top eight advance to a double elimination playoff bracket, with every series a best of three until a best of five grand final.
The prize pool is 1,000,000 US dollars, of which 300,000 goes to the winners. The tournament had originally been due to start on 17 September before organisers moved it back two days.
Later on the opening day Aurora were due to meet pipsqueak+4, LGD Gaming to play Yakult Brothers and Team Yandex to face MOUZ, the last of those giving Ammar Assaf his first competitive match for Yandex after he replaced DM in the line-up. The event finishes on 27 September 2026, and three of the sides in Bucharest, Aurora, Natus Vincere and MOUZ, carry names better known from other titles.