PGL Wallachia Season 7 is the first tournament in 2026 with a traditional old-school double elimination bracket and it’s been a breath of fresh air. In other tournaments this year, we’ve had byes, long group stages, four match playoffs and a variety of wacky formats that don’t completely scratch the competitive Dota itch.
But beyond just being more satisfying to watch, it seems like teams and players prefer the format, and even play better within it. The long bracket brings out the best in teams who could otherwise underperform. But why does this happen and what causes it? Let’s take a look.
The top teams (statistically) performed better at PGL Wallachia
At PGL Wallachia Season 7, even with a tremendous amount of substitutions, it’s hard to argue that the best team didn’t win, and that the best teams made it to the end of the bracket.
Teams like BetBoom, Team Yandex, and Team Liquid bounced back after a middling performance at DreamLeague. Yandex and Betboom, the seven and eighth best teams according to Liquidpedia’s team ranks, far outperformed their previous standings in both early 2026 and late 2025. And Team Liquid returned to the podium (albeit in second place) after a down event.
There’s some outliers. Tundra Esports, winners of DreamLeague Season 27, struggled at Wallachia, despite arguably being the best team in the world at the start of the tournament. And obviously, there are more things that affect performance than just tournament format. Elements like rest, But for the purposes of this article, it’s a great data point.
Why top teams perform better in double elimination tournaments
So what do we think Double Elimination tournaments boost team performance beyond the standard?
The format favors consistency
In some formats, the concept of a fluke win or a lucky streak can often take the basic tenet of a tournament (to find out which team is the best), and rocket a team to success far beyond what could be expected from them. More than this, it throws doubt on teams who experience singular success. But in the double elimination format, consistency becomes far more valuable than volatility.
Take Heroic at PGL Wallachia Season 2: An underdog team that proved they were better through consistency. Or just Yandex in Season 7. Running the bracket in double elimination validates a performance. No doubt can be thrown on their win, because the teams were consistent, and didn’t drop a series.
Teams try more things
In double elimination, there’s an element that exists in both the format, and longer game series (best-of-three, best-of-five, etc.) that means teams are able to take bigger risks, knowing the downside of that risk isn’t instant elimination.
That safety net provides more innovation in both draft tactics, picks, and playstyle. Many of the finalists at PGL Wallachia Season 7 were content to select very low pick-rate heroes (for the tournament) in games that were important, but not elimination chances. Team Liquid picked up Lina to great effect, with her 100% win rate, one pick statistics. BetBoom took a risk on Io (one pick, one victory) that won them a game, and Yandex consistently used Luna (who only had seven picks the entire tournament) in situations that secured their victory.
Double elimination leads to a richer strategic environment and can push the meta forward rather than reward safe play.
Playoffs are a psychological motivator – players perform better
For many players, especially those at the highest levels of competition, high-stakes matches, like those in a double elimination bracket, elevate their performance.
The added pressure of (even with an aforementioned safety net) sharpens focus, while the opportunity to fight back from the lower bracket can build momentum and confidence. How many times have we heard “Upper Bracket is for bitches!” from confident players?
The more granular a tournament, the less important each stage
As tournaments become more granular, (that is, featuring more series, stages, format wrinkles, etc.) the value of a single game or round decreases. The number of stages and elimination opportunities before a final bracket also increases randomness and decreases the reliability of outcomes.
Overall, in longer brackets performance trends matter more than isolated results. And that favors stronger, more adaptable teams.
Ultimately, it’s a combination of rewarding consistency and challenging strategic depth that means if a team is truely good, they’ll succeed in double elimination formats.
So… should every tournament use double elimination?
Let’s not beat around the bush: Yes. Going back to one of the original points, that tournaments are designed to determine the best team competing, then double elimination fits the bill. Often alternative formats are floated out of reasons other than simple competitive integrity.
Either time constraints, supposed entertainment value, or other factors change formats away from what is one of the best formats in esports or competition overall. In the same way that Dota has seemingly embraced the Swiss-system in many of its group stages, it should return to longer double elimination brackets. It makes for better events and better fills the purpose of competition as a whole.