CHIRA_JUNIOR on the Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2026 semifinals: “In my opinion, every game was one-sided.”
Team Yandex midlaner Ilya “CHIRA_JUNIOR” Chirtsov shared his thoughts in an interview at the 2026 Esports World Cup Dota 2 tournament following their loss to PARIVISION in the playoffs and explained what went wrong on the third map.
On his feelings after the semifinal loss
They’re bad. In my opinion, every game was one-sided. Maybe it was because of the heroes, or maybe we just played poorly. It was hard to play on that map because of the opponent’s lane pushes.
On the third map against PV
It wasn’t just about Axe; we didn’t apply enough pressure in the mid lane either, and we didn’t speed up our gameplay. We would’ve had a chance in the late game if the situation had been even, but it wasn’t like that in reality.
[Question: “Should we have killed Invoker and pushed mid?”]
Yes. Just apply pressure.
On the third-place match against Vici Gaming
We have to win.
After losing in the semifinals, Team Yandex lost its chance to take first place at the 2026 Esports World Cup in Dota 2. Tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. Moscow time, the team will play for the bronze medal against Vici Gaming, followed by the grand final between BetBoom Team and PV.
Kirill Alexandrov
