Clavision Masters 2025: Snow-Ruyi: Format, Talent, Schedule, Fixtures and More

Clavision Masters 2025: Snow-Ruyi is the final Tier 1 event before The International 2025 on the Dota 2 professional circuit. This tournament will take place at the Bo Ao Indoor Stadium (博奥体育馆) in Zhangjiakou, China. Ten teams will face off for a total prize pool of US$700,000 from July 28th to August 3rd.

This is one last chance for Tier 1 teams to clash and refine their strategies before TI. While PARIVISION and Tundra Esports are confirmed, Team Spirit is notably absent. Once again, Team Spirit is betting on hiding its playbook before a big tournament while other teams grind harder to get stronger.

Remember how Nigma Galaxy showed their first signs of a comeback at this tournament? — Credit: Weibo 

Clavision Masters 2025: Snow-Ruyi — Format

First, let’s break down the format for the Clavision Masters 2025: Snow-Ruyi. The ten invited teams will compete in two stages. The event begins with a Group Stage featuring two groups in a single round-robin format with best-of-three matches.

The top team in each group will be seeded directly into the Semifinals of the Upper Bracket in the Playoffs. The 2nd and 3rd place teams in each group will advance to the Quarterfinals of the Upper Bracket. The remaining teams will drop to the first round of the Lower Bracket.

The Group Stage format continues the recent trend of rewarding group winners with deeper seeding. — Credit: Weibo (u/7927814420)

Next, the Playoffs follow the classic double-elimination bracket, with all matches being best-of-three and a best-of-five Grand Final. This will be a great opportunity to see how Chinese teams perform against European powerhouses one last time before TI 2025.

Clavision Masters 2025: Snow-Ruyi — Invited Teams

let’s look at the list of invited teams for the Clavision Masters 2025: Snow-Ruyi. There’s at least one representative from each major region, except the Americas. In the past, Evil Geniuses would have been a likely invite — just like when SumaiL was revealed to the world.

Now, SumaiL returns — not only to show where he stands but to try to replicate Nigma Galaxy’s strong run at last year’s Snow-Ruyi. Here’s the full list of competitors:

• Aurora Gaming (Eastern Europe)
• BetBoom Team (Eastern Europe)
• BOOM Esports (Southeast Asia)
• Gaimin Gladiators (Western Europe)
• Nigma Galaxy (Middle East and Northern Africa)
• PARIVISION (Eastern Europe)
• Tundra Esports (Western Europe)
• Team Tidebound (China)
• Xtreme Gaming (China)
• Yakult Brothers (China)

Local Talent, CEO’s Announcement, and Venue

Unlike most international Dota 2 tournaments, the Snow-Ruyi 2025 emphasizes local talent. The main host will be Zeng Shuyi. So far, the English broadcast talent includes Benjamin "Bkop" Kopilow, Dylan "malibujesus" Elder, and Shane "roho" James Bee.

This venue is spectacular — it’s exactly what you’d expect for a high-profile event. — Credit: Twitter (@OGADotaPIT)

When the tournament was announced in early July, Clavision CEO Junqi Guo shared:

“It is a great honor for Clavision to establish a partnership with one of the most experienced tournament organizers in the world — OGA. It is also my honor to have Ivan Marusic as both a partner and a friend. I sincerely thank the OGA DOTA PIT team and Mr. Ivan Marusic for their support of Clavision in the past, the previous event, and the current one, as well as for all the help provided in team invitations, sponsorships, broadcast sales, and many other areas. I truly look forward to our two sides creating even more brilliant chapters together across different fields in the future.”

As for the venue, the Bo Ao Indoor Stadium is different from last year’s location. The 2024 edition was held at the National Ski Jumping Centre, nicknamed Snow-Ruyi — the likely inspiration for the event’s name.

Clavision Masters 2025: Snow-Ruyi — Group Stage Schedule

Since the tournament is hosted in China, the schedule isn’t very friendly for Western audiences, especially in the Americas. Here’s the schedule in GMT to help you adjust it as needed. The Group Stage runs for three days, from July 28th to July 30th.

Group A — July 28th

• 02:00 — PARIVISION vs. Tundra Esports
• 05:00 — BOOM Esports vs. Nigma Galaxy
• 08:00 — PARIVISION vs. Xtreme Gaming

Group B — July 28th

• 02:00 — BetBoom Team vs. Gaimin Gladiators
• 05:00 — Yakult Brothers vs. Team Tidebound
• 08:00 — BetBoom Team vs. Team Yandex

Group A — July 29th

• 02:00 — BOOM Esports vs. Tundra Esports
• 05:00 — Nigma Galaxy vs. Xtreme Gaming
• 08:00 — PARIVISION vs. BOOM Esports
• 11:00 — Xtreme Gaming vs. Tundra Esports

Group B — July 29th

• 02:00 — Yakult Brothers vs. Gaimin Gladiators
• 05:00 — Team Tidebound vs. Team Yandex
• 08:00 — BetBoom Team vs. Yakult Brothers
• 11:00 — Team Yandex vs. Gaimin Gladiators

Group A — July 30th

• 02:00 — PARIVISION vs. Nigma Galaxy
• 05:00 — Xtreme Gaming vs. BOOM Esports
• 08:00 — Nigma Galaxy vs. Tundra Esports

Group B — July 30th

• 02:00 — BetBoom Team vs. Team Tidebound
• 05:00 — Team Yandex vs. Yakult Brothers
• 08:00 — Team Tidebound vs. Gaimin Gladiators

The English broadcast will air on the talent’s personal channels — the main streams will be on Bkop’s Twitch and YouTube, with malibujesus’s Twitch channel serving as a secondary stream.

Clavision Masters 2025: Snow-Ruyi — Must-Watch Matches

To wrap up, let’s highlight the most interesting matches for each day. On July 28th, both groups open with bangers: Group A’s PARIVISION vs. Tundra Esports and Group B’s BetBoom Team vs. Gaimin Gladiators.

On Day 2, watch Xtreme Gaming vs. Tundra Esports in Group A and Yakult Brothers vs. Gaimin Gladiators in Group B — these matchups will show how Chinese teams hold up against strong Western European squads at home.

This is a Grand Final-worthy match kicking off the event. — Credit: Eric de Oliveira

On the final day, Nigma Galaxy faces both Western European teams in Group A, while Team Tidebound goes up against European challengers in Group B. Nigma Galaxy is pushing hard to regain Tier 1 form, and this is another vital test on that path.

Final Thoughts

Despite the absence of Team Spirit and other powerhouses like Team Liquid, the Clavision Masters 2025: Snow-Ruyi remains an excellent preview for The International 2025. It’s especially important to see how Chinese teams perform with a home crowd advantage.

The champions will take home an impressive $213,500 — a significant boost for any squad, especially smaller orgs. Let’s see if No[o]ne- can grab another win and prepare Satanic for TI, as he promised in the PARIVISION vlog. To stay updated on Snow-Ruyi and all things Dota 2, check out our news section on the Strafe website!

Feature Image Source: Twitter (@OGADotaPIT)