Speeded: “We had to learn to play against strong teams, which is incredibly difficult”

GamerLegion support Paul 'Speeed' Bochichio, in an interview at The International 2026, recalled his team's performance at the previous tournament in the series, spoke about the addition of Wong 'Ghost' Chi Chong to the roster, and also talked about expectations from his team.

[At the previous The International, your team reached the elimination stage, where they were defeated by PARIVISION. How do you feel remembering that tournament and your performance in it? ] Considering that this was my first The International and one of my first LAN tournaments, I was absolutely delighted. We played well against PARIVISION. We almost won the game against them. At that time it was simply incredible for us. So yeah, it was pretty good. And I hope that we can repeat this, or even improve the result.

[ How does it feel now, considering you were Wildcard last year and now GamerLegion? ] We have a lot more experience now. As I said, last year this was one of our first LAN tournaments. Before that, we were trampled at the qualifications, Shopify Rebellion simply destroyed us. Then we gathered our strength and made it to TI. We just made it to TI, as if by accident. This time we played a bunch of LAN tournaments throughout the year, we have a lot of experience.

[Ghost joined you after ESL One Birmingham 2026. What difference did it make? ] It changed everything a lot. We went from Yamsun to Shad and then from Shad to Ghost in a very short period of time. I had to work with different people. They see the game differently, they have different levels of gaming skills. So yes, this is a significant change. You need to learn to communicate. Ghost had to accept many of our ideas. So yes, it takes some time to get used to new players.

[ What has been your biggest challenge during this season? ] All. We had to learn to play against strong teams, which is incredibly difficult. I think people don't quite understand how the level of play continually improves when you go from tier 2 to tier 1.5, and then from tier 1.5 to tier 1. The game is constantly changing. We're obviously still working on all of this. Playing on stage, at LAN tournaments - it is significantly different from playing online from a mental point of view. More stress. So yes, everything is completely different, very difficult.

[At The International 2026 you are considered underdogs. Do you agree with this? And do you think that gives you some freedom in terms of how you play? ] I think it's not bad. Just a little less stress. But I wouldn't say it's any easier than at the previous TI. Last year I had no expectations from the tournament. At this TI I want to make it to the playoffs. I feel that we are capable of this, regardless of our results in the last competitions. So maybe there's a little more pressure because this isn't our first TI. We had decent results throughout the year. We are constantly moving towards the playoffs, and have already been very close to it several times. So I really want to break through there.

GamerLegion played three matches in the group stage of The International 2026 - the team won one victory and suffered two defeats.