Ekki: “I think the carry Vengeful Spirit is one of the best heroes”

Rune Eaters Esports support Marcel 'Ekki' Holowienko, in an interview with the online publication Hotspawn, discussed the current meta, named the most underrated player of the Esports World Cup 2026, as well as heroes who have so far been undeservedly forgotten.

Historically, I prefer fast games. I love killing heroes, finishing in 20 minutes, demolishing buildings. But now the game is very slow. You have to play very methodically, literally with a scientific approach.

I believe there are many of them. I think the craziest thing about this patch is that it hasn't been explored yet. There are so many strong carries that haven't been played at all, or have been used very limitedly, that are completely broken. I consider the carry Vengeful Spirit to be one of the best heroes. But no one plays it, except perhaps against Doom. The Shadow Fiend/Drow Ranger meta is asking for heroes like Sven, but we haven't seen much of them. A very interesting patch.

Everyone on my team—every player. If you take it from other teams, I think they underestimate how tOfu carries Team Liquid. I watched their records, played stand-up there, follow them so I know what's going on. And every time he does something that will win them the game. I don't know how he does it. If you think that supports do not affect the game, watch tOfu’s replay.

Previously, Samuel 'Boxi' Swan shared his opinion about the meta. He called the choice of characters quite wide, but does not believe that the teams “slept through” any strong heroes.