Kataomi` on the organization of the Esports World Cup 2026: “Surprisingly, they managed to get everything ready in such a short time.”
BetBoom Team players Vladislav “Kataomi`” Semenov and Matvey “MieRo” Vasyunin assessed the level of organization at the Esports World Cup 2026 Dota 2 tournament in a team vlog.
On preparations for the tournament
Kataomi’: So far, we’re approaching the tournament with the mindset that we’re just giving it our all and hoping for the best. We didn’t have a boot camp before Riyadh because of my injury.
On the organization of EWC 2026 and its format
Kataomi: Surprisingly, they got everything ready just fine in such a short time. The practice sessions, of course, aren’t exactly “Wow!”—and the fact that we have to travel 15 minutes from the hotel to play in them… Overall, it’s acceptable.
As far as I know, nothing has changed in the format since last year. It wasn’t exactly a “Wow!” format back then, and it still isn’t. I remember from last year that we finished first in our group and had to stay at the hotel for a week. We really didn’t like that at all, so we’re not aiming for first place in the group this time.
[Comment: “We haven’t managed to be the top team yet.”]
Yeah, so everything’s going according to plan so far.
On entertainment for players at EWC 2026
MieRo: Based on all the tournaments I’ve been to in my esports career, I can confidently say that this is the best interactive experience I’ve ever had. Even in previous years in Riyadh, there were fewer interactive activities like this, or they were more scattered, so the quality suffered, but here all the machines are in working order.
What’s missing—for me, at least—is probably some kind of warm-up area, which is what I’m looking for. Maybe there are those who like to just work out with resistance bands or their own weights—but there aren’t many people like that, very few among esports athletes. The main inconvenience for us is that our hotel is three kilometers away, and the shuttles aren’t regular—they’re not even on a set schedule. They’re always late, or something like that happens. There’s no gym here, so we have to go to the hotel’s gym. That’s the only inconvenience. Overall, the tournament is really great.
Originally, the Esports World Cup 2026 was planned to be held at the traditional venue for this series of tournaments—in the capital of Saudi Arabia. The official announcement of the move to Paris was made on May 20—less than a month and a half before the festival was set to begin.
