Despite the map expansion, which the oldies don't like, Dota is now in one of the best states - Shachlo

Caster and former professional player Maxim 'Shachlo' Abramovskikh shared his opinion on the main news of the last week in an exclusive commentary.

The group stage of the Esports World Cup 2026 ended on Sunday. Which team surprised you the most in the group stage - in a good or bad way?

Nigma Galaxy surprised me in a good way. The main thing is probably not that they went straight from first place to the playoffs, but how confidently and in what style they managed to do it. Well, GL is a shame: out of 24 teams, they definitely shouldn’t have been the first to leave the tournament.

The “Survival” stage will soon begin, where out of twelve teams only four will advance further. How do you like this tournament format: a combination of best-of-2 in groups and a knockout stage - does it fairly determine the strongest?

I don’t have a clear opinion on the format. It is definitely interesting to watch - there are no double-elimination or second chances. I can only wish good luck to the team that will have to face the conditional Spirit in the play-off matches.

On July 9, Dota 2 turned 13 years old from its official release. What do you remember about the game from those times?

13 years ago and the grass was greener. Obviously, the early years of Dota are remembered with warmth and nostalgia. At the same time, I understand that despite the expansion of the map, which many old people do not like, Dota is now in one of its best states.

The second chapter of Dark Carnival was released last week. Should Valve continue to make such story events? Or is it better for developers to focus on events of a different format?

Any event in Dota is good. We don’t have to choose - we eat what they give us. I would like a PvE event like “Aghanim’s Labyrinth”. I hope we see something similar in the next acts of Dark Carnival.

You can find out about the main news of the past week in our material. Also, all important news events are covered on social networks: Telegram, VK, MAX.