onic on being eliminated from BLAST Open Porto 2026: “It’s great that we were eliminated after securing at least one win.”
In an interview at BLAST Open Porto 2026, Inner Circle captain Viktor “onic” Babiy summed up the team’s performance at the tournament, discussed their loss to FUT Esports, and shared his expectations for upcoming LAN tournaments.
On the results of BLAST Open Porto 2026
This tournament was just a good opportunity for us. So, in a way, we’re glad we were here. And, of course, it’s great that we were eliminated after securing at least one win. It was important for us to beat Team Vitality. I hope this will give us more confidence and the realization that we can really compete here if we work harder.
On the loss to FUT Esports
It’s a little disappointing because we felt we could have won on Mirage. We lost a few rounds as CT, and then on the T side, I made a not-so-great call. We also didn’t use the pauses very well, so we weren’t able to communicate as effectively, but that’s just how it is.
On upcoming tournaments
As I said, we did manage to win one match here. Of course, we want better results, but it’s still okay. So we shouldn’t be down about it. It’s a good step forward either way. And we’ll have a few LAN tournaments before the Major cutoff, and we’re still hoping to make it to the Major. We’re just keeping moving forward, keeping up the work, and trying to become a Tier 1 team—but we still have a lot of work to do to get there.
On Fan Support
I just want to say thank you to everyone, because we really feel your tremendous support. Our phones were like TNT in Minecraft after the matches because, yeah, so many people were messaging us. It really keeps us going. So thank you very much, and I hope you’ll see us in Tier 1 soon.
Earlier, Inner Circle lost to FUT Esports 0–2 in maps during the group stage of the BLAST Open Porto 2026. As a result, Viktor “onic” Babiy’s team finished the tournament in 9th–12th place, earning $32,500 in prize money.
Photo: PGL.
