not me about getting to The International 2026: “This is not something you should be happy about”

Team Spirit support Alexey 'not me' Kosmynin, in an interview at The International 2026, shared his opinion on the current meta, talked about how he got into Team Spirit, and also explained his attitude towards getting into the championship from Valve.

I played on tier-2, tier-3. My first team was One Move. Then... Yes, everything in general.

[ Is the current meta right for you personally? ] Overall, I like the meta, but I don't like the specific carry heroes. In terms of, there are some “Drovki” and “SFs”, Lone Druid as well, who simply demolish their line without a chance. This is what I don't like. And so, overall it’s comfortable.

[Have you watched the previous TIs? If so, then after watching you did not think: “One day I will play at TI. I want to play for an amazing team like Team Spirit." Was this your plan? Or is it just a dream? ] No. I just looked at it from the point of view that... Overall, it’s cool that this is the main Dota tournament. I watched it more because of the level of Dota than because of any title. And I didn't think I'd end up here. I just liked watching people play.

[ How did they recruit you to the team? ] Yes, just in the moment I was playing Yellow Submarine, and we were playing some kind of tournament. And Dima [Korb3n. — Approx. ed. ] wrote that so-and-so, we have an unexpected replacement, so to speak. We can call you and test it. He said that it was all up to me, “choose for yourself whether you want it or not,” and that’s all.

[ After you qualified, were you more nervous or happy? ] In general, there was nothing like: “Oh, I’ll get to The International, cool.” This title doesn’t mean anything to me, that it’s something incomprehensible or something else. It just seems to me that this is a micro-goal. This is not something you should be happy about.

I like the way PARIVISION plays. Very aggressive, very fast. And I’ll probably only single her out.

Earlier, Alexey 'not me' Kosmynin commented on his team's victory over Team Liquid in the group stage of The International 2026.