Jenkins: “You can put together any team with Yatoro and Collapse—and it’ll be a top-tier team.”
In a video on the GosuGamers YouTube channel, staff from an English-language broadcast studio named the best players at each position for The International 2026.
On the best carry
ODPixel: The best carry is probably Satanic. He’s broken every record here. And it seems like he’s just getting better and better. So I’ll go with Satanic.
Sheever: It’s Satanic—it’s obvious.
Jenkins: It’s either Satanic or Yatoro. But it wouldn’t be fair to pick all the PARIVISION players. So I’ll go with Yatoro. He’s the greatest player of all time, and I think he’ll prove himself again when it counts.
On the best mid laner
Sheever: For mid, I’d pick Malr1ne.
ODPixel: Hmm...
Sheever: Don’t you want to pick Malr1ne? Well, he’s obviously one of the best players in the world.
ODPixel: Yeah, he’s obviously one of the best players in the world. But I feel like mid is a little…
Sheever: Who would you pick, then?
ODPixel: I’d probably pick lorenof. I think he has the potential to be that X-factor that takes the team to a whole new level. We’ve already seen that with Nigma Galaxy in the group stage—with him, the team looked much better than before.
Jenkins: Nisha. Come on, it’s obvious. When Nisha is in good form, he’ll simply outplay and outclass just about anyone. And this year, he’s been showing exactly that kind of form.
On the best offlaner
PyrionFlax: As for offlaners, the choice is a bit tougher here, but I’m still going to say Collapse because I really love Collapse. Even if statistically he might not be the best, he’s my favorite player, so I have to pick him.
Lyrical: I’ll go with what might be a slightly controversial choice. I’ll go with Ws. I think he’s demonstrated a very wide range of skills. He’s often given the last pick, but he plays Lycan, Necrophos, and other heroes. More often than not, he’s the one who becomes the decisive player on his team.
Sheever: I’m still going to pick Collapse.
ODPixel: Yeah, Collapse always comes through when it counts.
Jenkins: Collapse. It’s got to be Collapse. Yeah, Yatoro and Collapse. You could put together any team with Yatoro and Collapse—and it would be a top-tier team.
On the best fourth position
PyrionFlax: As for the fourth and fifth positions… Damn, I don’t know. Who even cares? Who pays attention to supports? They’re boring.
Sheever: If we don’t want to pick players from the same team… I think we need to really think carefully about the fourth position.
ODPixel: I think Save- is good. I like Save- better.
Sheever: What about not me? Who’s better—not me or Save-?
ODPixel: I’ll pick Save-.
Sheever: Do we need to explain the choice of Save- in more detail? He’s just really good.
ODPixel: Yeah, he’s really good. Let’s pick him.
Jenkins: For the fourth spot, I’ll pick 9Class. Damn, am I just going to put the whole PARIVISION team together now? Okay, I’ll pick 9Class because I think he brings something to the team that no one else is offering right now.
On the best fifth pick
Sheever: If we were talking about last year, I would have chosen Whitemon 100 percent.
ODPixel: Yeah, but now he’s getting back to his old level. He’s regaining his form and showing the consistency he used to have. Let’s pick Whitemon. Sounds good.
Trent: My GOAT is Whitemon. I think he’s incredible. I’m almost never disappointed by his play. He consistently demonstrates the highest level of mechanical skill among position five players on the professional scene. So for me, the choice for position five is simple.
Earlier, content creator Nikita “Daxak” Kuzmin compiled a tier list of heroes for the first position in Patch 7.41e. Tiny, Drow Ranger, Faceless Void, Huskar, Kez, Lone Druid, Luna, and Nature’s Prophet made it into the top tier.
Photo by Adela Sznajder, ESL.
