Group Yandex shook off a poor displaying within the Group Stage and bounced again within the Elimination Stage to qualify for The Worldwide 2026 Playoffs.
Japanese European Dota 2 powerhouse 
Team Yandex turned the ultimate staff to advance to The International (TI) 2026 Playoffs after they pulled off a 2-1 reverse sweep over the event’s lone South American consultant, 
LGD Gaming, to shut out the Elimination Stage on Sunday (16 August).
With their victory, Yandex have additionally assured themselves a High 8 end and an estimated US$121,885 in winnings. They now be part of Group Stage high seeds 
TEAM VISION (aka PARIVISION), 
Nigma Galaxy, and 
Team Liquid in addition to fellow Elimination Stage winners 
Team Falcons, 
BoomBoys (aka BetBoom Group), 
Team Spirit, and 
Iron Wing (aka 1w Group) within the Playoffs.
In the meantime, LGD bow out of TI 2026 in Ninth-Thirteenth place with an estimated US$54,805 in comfort, becoming a member of fellow Elimination Spherical losers 
Vici Gaming, 
Aurora Gaming, 
Team Resilience, and 
GamerLegion. Whereas LGD fall wanting making the Playoffs, the very fact they even received this far is commendable when contemplating the circumstances the staff confronted forward of TI 2026.
Mere days earlier than the event started, LGD mid laner 
Santiago “TaiLung” Agüero Gustavo was banned from competing because of points with the participant’s aggressive integrity. To fill the outlet of their roster, LGD had to call on two-time TI champion 
Topias Miikka “Topson” Taavitsainen as a last-minute stand-in simply so they might compete.
LGD rise to the event in TI 2026 Group Stage whereas Yandex stumble
Not many anticipated LGD would find yourself going through Yandex within the Elimination Stage, and because the greater seed no much less.
LGD were already considered a wildcard team even before they got Topson as a stand-in, with many anticipating the remainder of the staff would not be capable of alter their video games round their new mid laner shortly sufficient. In stark distinction, Yandex entered TI 2026 with expectations of a deep run, with a possible grand finals look definitely not out of the query.
However because the TI 2026 Group Stage and Elimination Stage would finally present, expectations matter little as soon as the competitors truly begins.
LGD completed the Group Stage with a shocking 3-2 document. Whereas they lost to Falcons in their opening match in Round 1, they shortly bounced again in Spherical 2 by taking down Resilience in three video games. In Spherical 3, LGD received swept by Nigma Galaxy, an comprehensible loss on reflection when contemplating Nigma Galaxy ended up being one of the top Group Stage seeds.
LGD then closed out their Group Stage marketing campaign by persevering with to be the bane of the Chinese language groups, defeating Xtreme in three video games in Spherical 4 and sweeping Vici in Spherical 5.
However whereas LGD’s Group Stage run exceeded expectations, Yandex put up a disappointing efficiency as compared. They solely managed a 2-3 document within the Group Stage, with their solely wins coming towards underdog squads like 
HULIGANI and Resilience. Yandex’s losses got here by the hands of Liquid, Aurora, and Iron Wing–all powerhouse groups in their very own proper, however had been seen as a category under Yandex forward of TI 2026.
That then arrange arguably the closest matchup of the Elimination Stage as a struggling Yandex squad needed to face an LGD aspect with loads of momentum behind them.
Yandex reverse sweep LGD to develop into the ultimate staff certified for TI 2026 Playoffs
Having discovered themselves in a do-or-die match for the Playoffs, Yandex lastly managed to return to their successful kind. Regardless of a crushing loss in sport one, the Japanese European squad rallied in sport two then outlasted LGD in a 68-minute decider to finish the reverse sweep.
LGD opened the sequence with an unorthodox draft that includes stuns aplenty, with 
Yuma “Yuma” Langlet on Sven, Topson on Dragon Knight, 
Adrian “Wisper” Cespedes Dobles on Enigma, 
Matheus Santos “KingJungles” Diniz on Centaur Warrunner, and Thiago “Thiolicor” Cordeiro on Mirana.
In the meantime, Yandex went for meta picks like Kez for 
Alimzhan “Watson” Islambekov, Earth Spirit for 
Ilya “CHIRA_JUNIOR” Chirtsov, Underlord for Dmitry “DM” Dorokhin, Lion for 
Martin “Saksa” Sazdov, and Witch Physician for Arman “Malady” Orazbayev.
Recreation one began off with each groups on comparatively even footing till LGD blew the sport vast open with an enormous teamwipe throughout two fights within the backside and mid lane across the 24-minute mark. LGD did not waste this golden alternative and shortly snowballed to take sport one in a 24-minute stomp.
Topson paced LGD’s 24-11 kill lead within the sequence opener with 10 kills and 10 assists on only one dying. Yuma additionally pitched in with eight kills and three assists on two deaths.
Recreation two then noticed Yandex pull out the carry Io for Watson as a part of a really tanky lineup that additionally included Dragon Knight for CHIRA_JUNIOR, Doom for DM, Bounty Hunter for Saksa, and Timeless for Illness. LGD fielded one other unorthodox draft that includes Yuma on a carry Vengeful Spirit, Topson on Lina, Wisper on Magnus, KingJungles on a help Centaur Warrunner, and Thiolicor on Mirana.
Mirroring what occurred in sport one, sport two additionally had a quiet laning stage earlier than Yandex exploded into the lead by successful a number of clashes thanks largely to Watson tanking by way of all the things LGD threw at him. From there, Yandex merely fended off LGD’s makes an attempt to defend and compelled the sequence to a decider after 38 minutes of motion.
Watson put up 12 kills and assists apiece on simply two deaths to gas Yandex’s 30-17 kill lead in sport two. CHIRA_JUNIOR additionally added 9 kills and 12 assists towards three deaths.
With all the things on the road in sport three, Yandex drafted a pair of high-damage ranged cores in Lina for Watson and Snapfire for CHIRA_JUNIOR. DM on Darkish Seer and Illness on Winter Wyvern offered some much-needed teamfight crowd management skills, whereas Saksa on Bounty Hunter was tasked with getting imaginative and prescient on the enemy to arrange initiations.
On the opposite aspect of the map, LGD fielded a tri-core of Necrophos for Yuma, Dragon Knight for Topson, and Windranger for Wisper. Thiolicor offered crowd management from lengthy vary whereas KingJungles on Timeless was tasked with saving his cores from getting bursted with Tombstone.
Whereas Wisper suffered 5 deaths within the first 20 minutes of the sport, LGD had been firmly within the lead by the mid sport as Yandex didn’t have the firepower to match them within the head-on clashes. Nevertheless, the tables turned in a disastrous battle for LGD across the Dire backside Tier 1 tower, the place Yuma was bursted down and KingJungles was unable to save lots of his carry with Tombstone.
With LGD dropping all momentum simply as Yandex’s lineup began peaking in energy, the Japanese European squad proceeded to methodically decide aside their opponents. And regardless of LGD’s finest efforts to mount a comeback, they might solely delay the sport to 68 minutes earlier than in the end conceding the sequence and their place in TI 2026.
CHIRA_JUNIOR and Watson led Yandex to the Playoffs, with the previous placing up 17 kills and 21 assists whereas the latter notched 13 kills and 12 assists. Each gamers additionally solely had two deaths apiece.
What’s The Worldwide 2026?
TI 2026 will probably be this 12 months’s iteration of Dota 2’s annual world championship event, happening in August in Shanghai, China. As with earlier iterations of the event, TI 2026 will function a complete of 16 groups that earn their spots within the event by receiving direct invitations or incomes slots by way of regional qualifiers.
The listing of directly-invited groups to TI 2026 embody 
Aurora Gaming, BoomBoys (aka BetBoom Group), 
Team Falcons, 
Team Liquid, Iron Wing (aka 1w Group), 
Xtreme Gaming, and 
Team Yandex. In the meantime, the groups that earned their spots by way of the regional qualifiers embody European qualifier winners 
Team Spirit, TEAM VISION (aka PARIVISION), HULIGANI, and 
Nigma Galaxy, North American qualifier winner 
GamerLegion, Southeast Asian qualifier winner 
OG, South American qualifier winner 
LGD Gaming, in addition to Chinese qualifier winners 
Vici Gaming and Team Resilience.
TI 2026’s important occasion will probably be hosted within the Oriental Sports activities Middle in Shanghai. Valve first announced that Shanghai will host TI 2026 throughout final 12 months’s world championship event, the place Team Falcons claimed the Aegis of Champions after defeating China’s Xtreme Gaming within the five-game grand finals.
It will mark the second time that Shanghai will host TI after TI 2019, the place Western Europe’s OG turned the first-ever two-time TI champions after defeating Group Liquid in 4 video games to say the grand prize of US$15.6 million, out of the US$34.3 million prize pool.
TI 2026 will probably be cut up into two phases: the ‘Street to The Worldwide’ and ‘The Worldwide’ important occasion. The Street to The Worldwide will probably be a Swiss-style Group Stage from 13 to 16 August, the place the 16 groups will probably be lower right down to the ultimate eight that may play within the sport’s largest stage from 20 to 23 August in Shanghai’s Oriental Sports activities Middle.
TI 2026’s prize pool follows that of earlier editions, with a US$1.6 million base prize pool that may then be boosted by way of gross sales of the TI 2026 Compendium.
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