Interview with Vasilisa about expectations from Int, phrases in the bundle and the pole on Paragon air

During the finals of the Russian Sber Championship, we were able to talk with the host and caster of Dota 2 tournaments Vasilisa Vasilisa Chernova. In an interview with, we discussed what to expect from the teams at The International 2026, whether we will hear “Kisi-kisi, meow-meow” version 2.0 and how Chernova reacted to the appearance of the strip pole on the Paragon broadcast.

Let's start with The International 2026, especially since there is very little left before it. Do you think it will come out predictable?

No, it definitely won’t be predictable. Where? Our Esports World Cup 2026 for Dota 2 turned out to be unpredictable, and then The International. It will definitely not be within the predicted limits, 100%. All sorts of Vici Gaming, for example, will clearly prepare more strategies, the same Nigma Galaxy... I think there will be no obvious passages at all. It’s already very difficult to even say who will win now. We can, of course, highlight two favorites - Team Yandex and PARIVISION. But this is also debatable - how ready will Team Yandex be? She didn’t exactly fail the EWC, but she didn’t play in the prime. Therefore, there will definitely be no predictable layouts at TI.

Is victory at the Esports World Cup 2026 in Dota 2 from PARIVISION an application for the title of The International 2026?

It seems to me that it may fail. We have never had such a thing happen before where one team took both EWC and TI. Therefore, it is unlikely that PARIVISION will take over The International 2026.

Then let's continue to follow the teams. Miposhka returned to Team Spirit. In your opinion, will this restore confidence, character and strategy to the team? Or is Spirit’s problem much deeper, and is it worth making global changes?

I don't think Spirit needs to change anything globally. Miposhka came first of all to raise the supports. Because the supports... it’s not that they are not up to the level, but their skills need to be developed a little for this team. But this is not done in a month. That is, it takes about six months for them to confidently begin to shine and play Dota 2 consistently. I think that at Inta they will occupy their top 8 or top 6, but not higher. But with the arrival of Miposhka, there will be progress in any case.

In any case, we'll just have to endure it for now.

We'll endure for now (laughs).

Do Team Falcons have a chance to get in shape and try to defend their championship title?

It will be hard. On the other hand, you have to watch how Cr1t- and Sneyking will play, because for one of them this is 100% Last Dance, and Falcons has always depended on how well the supports play. That is, if Sneyking goes out to farm on supports and comes out with Enchantress in his six slots, the team will calmly drag out the game.

How ready will Stas [Malr1ne] be? He either has Disneyland with his wife (laughs), or streams - let’s play on Pudge in the mid or on Io. It probably depends only on desire. The Falcons are truly a team of desire. Defend [Aegis] - no, but I think it will definitely make it into the top 4. Again, if the players want.

Well, what's wrong with Disneyland with your wife? On the contrary, a chance to refresh. Moreover, Stas himself said that if it were not for his wife, he would not have achieved anything.

I respect his choice! Here, you know, no hate. No negativity at all. There’s just an audience that immediately goes: “Ahhhh, a woman, she ruined everything, because of her he can’t play.” On the contrary, I have a positive attitude towards this. Because I understand how much a woman can give confidence and motivation to a doter (laughs).

(Laughs) Doteru is a very important clarification. Then let's talk about your favorites - Xtreme Gaming. Will the home arena and crowd help Ame lift the coveted plate?

It’s so hard, it’s very hard, because I really want to see that fairy tale where he will come to the home “Int” and become top 1... But the way Xtreme performed at EWC raises questions. And the main disadvantage is that we don’t know what’s going on inside. Because the director of Xiao8 came, left, Maps came, and some rumors appeared that LaNm would even work with them. Where, why? What kind of coaching staff changes are these? And most importantly, what do we want to get?

Because last year we played, roughly speaking, like this: Xm and Xxs dragged. This year we have Xxs, but we can't really play him because he's also a human. It's hard to relive these moments for a long time. NothingToSay is more of a supporting mid. He, of course, gives out his impacts, but he doesn’t drag, he can’t pickle 1v9. And you can’t look at Ame without tears.

I really want to, but in fact now Vici looks more interesting than Xtreme. Because Vici at least has an idea, at least has an idea of ​​what she wants to do, how she wants to surprise. And there are two people there who can transform Vici Gaming a little - Xm and XinQ, respectively.

Well, in general, will there be some kind of buff for Chinese bands?

The buff of the hall will be 100%. Buff smokes, Roshanov will definitely be there. But within the framework of the results, probably one of the teams, maybe the top 5 or top 6, will take 100%. But to reach the grand final... At the moment it seems that it will be difficult.

On the other hand, who knows? Last year was very amazing. Again, at our last EWC the CEO of Xtreme said: “That’s it, disband, we don’t want to show a shameful game.” They arrive at The International, the group is 4:0. And you're like, "Wow, what are we even doing?"

And who knows in what basement they were now locked in to prepare for The International? I had insiders that Xtreme, let’s say, was getting ready, that KV was playing great, and that they were pure monsters in form. I sat and thought: “They’re probably making fun of me. They’re just complaining because I’m worried about these guys.”

Then give a bold prediction on the winner of “Inta”. Let's leave out all the conventions, everything that exists now. Just with my soul.

Well, just a giga soul? I'll say BETBOOM Team. With my gigadsoul I want Vitaly Save-Melnik to raise the plate. This is straight up gigasoul.

Is there a team in the gigadoos that you think will goof up?

I don’t want to wish anything bad, but it seems to me that everything will be bad for Aurora. It didn’t go well for her at EWC, it didn’t go well at all. There is such a vibe that she just begins to deflate. Not a disband, but I think Aurora will not show results.

A little about something else, but still about TI. Should we expect something from Valve? Some patch, new meta?

It's too late to change the meta. We haven't even released the compendium, and there are three weeks left before TI. It's unlikely there will be a patch. Of course, I want some kind of alphabetic one, but there is hardly a chance. Therefore, we will play on the old meta, which we are all tired of.

Well then, I’ll ask about bundles, or rather, about yours. Your last voiceline collected both noise and negativity, and, well, what can we hide, it was in demand. Probably even the most popular.

Well, from love to hate one phrase. Either from hatred to love - depending on how you look.

Those who spam are probably very happy. Those who hear how they spam are there...

(Laughs) They are all happy too.

They're happy, yeah. Let's hope. So should we expect, as they say, new arrivals this year?

Everything is God's will. It is not clear whether to wait or not to wait. What worries me at this point is that people expect something from me. This creates pressure because no one knows whether I was invited at all or not. Everyone writes, and I say: “Where? We must first wait for the invitation.” And everyone says: “If they call her, that’s it, the gap will be bearable.” And I sit and think: “Damn, if they call me, it will be so hard.”

We have little actuality at all, many people began to think about how it works: y0nd posted what phrases were in the top. Some intergalactic theories came up. Don't expect anything. Don't expect anything, it's not necessary. Waiting is the problem of the person who waits.

But if you imagine that there is a bundle and remember past experience, how do you even come up with phrases? Is there some kind of algorithm?

The algorithm is basic. First you look at what's trending in memes, because memes rule the world. You always look at what's trending with memes. But now we have 67, which is already sickening, to be honest. There are some mini-imports that cannot be reformatted. But for the most part, I always have the same algorithm: there is a meme phrase and something for the soul.

There are a lot of people who say, “Can you write this down?” I talk to some pro players, and they say: “Damn, well, write down this phrase someday if they call you.” And I was like, “I don’t like it.” I say: “It won’t be from the heart. It won't work."

It’s difficult to say that I’m checking something on purpose. You never know what people will respond to. Even the previous phrase - it just went viral on TikTok. I didn’t do anything for it, it just went viral on TikTok. And this public feeling appeared.

But if it’s straight from the heart - any phrase, even if they don’t miss it - what would you like?

There is a seal. For the past two years I have tried to push a seal through, they write to me: the sound is too annoying.

Did “kisi-kisi, meow-meow” suit everyone?

Well, they thought it wasn’t too much, yes. And I like the seal. I send a seal every year and hope that one day it will be accepted. And we will all sit and listen to the seal.

And finally, I would like to discuss a slightly different topic. It’s not exactly relevant anymore, but it’s still interesting. Paragon and pole on stream. The topic is deep: we, in fact, have a struggle between the official castes and the community caste. It’s as if we’ve already experienced a similar story with television and the Internet. What do you think about such performances at official castes? How necessary and worth it is this?

You know, I sometimes like Paragon's ideas, but they seem to be made at the wrong time and in the wrong place. A year ago, for example, there was women's analytics. They would have made it... I don’t remember the date, maybe I’ll talk about them now. If they had done it on March 8, no one would have said anything. And when this is done for the grand final, questions arise: “Why?” It's a good idea, why not? It just needs to be timed to coincide with something - that would be okay.

It would be one thing if it was in the media, in some recorded video on YouTube or somewhere else, but when it was broadcast directly during the broadcast... I was shocked. We had a similar scene on TBD, but it was a pre-scene before the show started. There a fireman was jumping from a pole, this topic was discussed. But at least that was the beginning. They just joked, figuratively speaking, they just giggled, made a point - and that’s it. But there they really spent a lot of time on it. On the one hand, this is an information feed. This is being discussed, this is PR and all that. On the other hand, something is somehow too much. They just went too far. Perhaps if he just stood there it would be okay. Or just, I don't know, Santa would take it and walk around in a circle holding it and do nothing. But when the acrobatic performances from the talents themselves began, it confused me.

One can assume that this is an attempt to compete with community castes. Now, in fact, 90% of community casts look simple: Nix launched and that’s it. Only one “Booth” stands out.

(Laughs) The Booth was wonderful. This is what perhaps many were missing. I came in giggling. Of course, there was also quite a bit of overdoing there. But you have to go there and turn off your brain. Go in, turn off your brain and realize that this is done by real people.

In fact, the guys are actors. They are tough actors. It’s clear that some people don’t act there at all, but we know some of the personalities...

I was with them at the media day...

Yes, I understand you. But on the other hand, there is still a difference between life and behavior on camera. The most important thing is that they do it with a kind soul. They really do it out of sincere desire. They are not chased away with a stick or told: “This is a community cast.” They really want it, they live it. I think if they ever make their own movie, a real-life sitcom, a series in the spirit of “Real Boys,” it will be just a bomb. Here are the old "Real Boys". I recently watched the first episode, where it’s really creepy and surreal. And just imagine: bring these characters there. This will just be a rip-off. The most important thing is that some won't even have to play.

This will be stupid. But a very good fool.

This will be very cool. I really hope that someday they get around to it and someone produces it. These guys will be fine. God bless them!

***

The International 2026 will take place from August 13 to 23 in Shanghai, China. 16 teams will participate in the tournament, the starting prize fund is set at $1.6 million. It can be increased through sales of the compendium if Valve releases it. You can follow the progress of the event in the report.