Santa TI 2026: “The main disappointments of the tournament, in my opinion, will be Xtreme and Falcons”

Analyst Alexander 'Santa' Koltan, in a commentary for CyberMeta, named the main favorites of The International 2026, and also suggested who could become the main disappointments or create a sensation at the tournament.

[Published with the original spelling and punctuation preserved]

Three main favorites: Team Vision, Team Yandex, BetBoom Team. Why? Team Vision is the winner of the last EWC 2026, fiercely accelerated monsters led by the Dota genius Puppey. No[o]ne promised Satanic to win The International last year. In this he has every chance of fulfilling his promise. All 5 players complement each other perfectly, No[o]ne is experiencing a second youth, 9Class found the motivation to play standard heroes, Noticed found himself after a kick, Satanic revealed his full potential, and Dukalis, under the tutelage of his idol Clement Ivanov, became more stable and less toxic. Dream team.

Team Yandex – Saksa, Saksa and again Saksa. A brilliant Macedonian, with whose arrival Team Yandex players began to win tournaments. These guys have the strongest macro in the world, thanks to Saksa. Somewhat reminiscent of Team Falcons in prime. Yes, yes, the same ones who effortlessly took away tournament after tournament. Their success depends on the mid player. CHIRA_JUNIOR is the most unstable player on the team. How he will cope with the pressure of The International is a mystery.

BetBoom Team – for me, BB players are one of the main favorites. I put them as the last horse in the top 3. The reason for this is the former Team Spirit psychologist nokeepeesh. As soon as the guys started working with him, their results went uphill. With each tournament, the BetBoom Team only becomes stronger, primarily mentally, and as you know, the mentality has always been the weakest point of BB. It's amazing how the Dragons were able to miss such a valuable shot.

The main disappointments of the tournament, in my opinion, will be Xtreme Gaming and Team Falcons. Everything went wrong for Xtreme after Ame kicked xiao8. Such a shame. Without Shao there would be no Xtreme. And then a media upstart came, and everyone danced to his tune. Karma will not forgive this. And they say that the young idol of millions ruins games in the pub every other time, which indicates an extremely weak mentality. In pro games, Ame also likes to play GG early. In general, the team stuck to Shao. There is no director - and there will be no results. Falcons players are the reigning champions of The International 2026. They will defend the title, and the highest positions are expected from them. But not me. Cr1t- and Sneyking are retiring at any moment. Malr1ne is on his honeymoon. The main heroes skiter and ATF are not in the meta. Well, as the cherry on the cake, Liquid lost 0-3 at the last tournament.

The main sensations of The International? Vici Gaming and Nigma Galaxy are the ones who will surprise everyone, in my opinion. The first thanks to the support of the audience. I personally saw how Vici Gaming made it to The International, making a comeback of a 50 thousand advantage. Chuan and Co. can do a lot if they want. And when the whole audience is rooting for you, it’s hard not to want to. Nigma Galaxy is my personal favorite. I always rooted for them. Miracle- played there – SumaiL plays there. Legendary Star Players of a bygone era. I believe that, once at TI, the emperor will show how he did in his youth. Lorenof, the strongest stand-in in the history of Dota 2, will help him with this. Now he has found his home and is super motivated to show that he is worthy. Plus the Davai Lama factor. Yes, this player does not always hit the notes, BUT he recently had a child, which means he is obliged to perform for the sake of his family.

Earlier, Nikita 'Zais' Zakharov shared his expectations for The International 2026. The commentator anticipates that the tournament will be competitive and entertaining.