BLACKARXANGEL expects 1w Team and PARIVISION to win on the first day of The International 2026 playoffs
Commentator and analyst Vladislav “BLACKARXANGEL” Ivashchenko shared his predictions for the first matches of The International 2026 playoffs on Telegram.
The quote is reproduced with the source’s spelling and punctuation intact
PLAYOFFS DAY 1
Analysis of my matches.
[Iron Wing vs. Team Spirit] BO3
There are 3 maps here; it’ll be a bloodbath and a spectacle. I’ll say right away that Larl isn’t to blame—it’ll all come down to the actions of the three positions: who farms and who just chases enemies. I’ll give the edge in this series to [Iron Wing]
[BoomBoys vs. TEAM VISION] BO3
Vision’s form is intimidating—they’ve strengthened their lanes and added some solid draft picks. Their Level 9 player is running all over the map, while Satanic rushes to mid for every ability activation, and in the meantime, Noticed is farming.
It all turned out pretty awesome—the playoffs might be INTIMIDATING, but there’s a rookie who’s definitely going to give everyone on his team some valuable experience
What [BoomBoys] have first and foremost is GPK, but when he plays a support or utility hero, the team starts to falter. On the bright side, Kiritich has become a true Tier 1 carry, and Miero can go 1-9 if you give him Timber
and a psychologist.
Now for the conclusion: PUPEY > PSYCHOLOGIST
. Therefore, [TEAM VISION] will win.
Based on the results of today’s matches, the playoff participants will be divided into those who continue in the upper bracket and those who have fallen to the lower bracket. Earlier, caster Vladimir “Maelstorm” Kuzminov shared his expectations for the upcoming matches.
Photo by Vladislav “BLACKARXANGEL” Ivashchenko.
