Ahilles on the TI15 qualifier format in Europe: “Well, it’s strange; they could have made the most of it with that many teams.”

Former Dota 2 professional team coach Timur “Ahilles” Kulmukhambetov commented on Telegram about the format of the European qualifiers for The International 2026.
The quote is reproduced with the source’s spelling and punctuation intact
They actually made a 16-team bracket)
Well, that’s strange—they could have gotten the most out of it with that many teams.
Like in 2019—two groups, and then the bracket.
It seems more interesting.
I don’t know what 9class was talking about. Supposedly, beating Team Spirit in the qualifiers will be harder than winning The International itself.
Is this trolling? Because you won’t even face each other))
Spirit will easily go through the upper bracket, and you’ll go through the lower one)
The closed qualifiers in Europe will take place from June 21 to 28. This year, the organizers have combined the two regions into a single pool and allocated four spots for it at The International 2026. The next match will take place on June 21 at 11:00 AM Moscow time between Team Spirit and VP.Prodigy.
Photo — Timur “Ahilles” Kulmukhambetov.


