lorenof: “It feels like it’s really hard to find a good roster in Dota right now.”
Nigma Galaxy mid laner Artem “lorenof” Melnik spoke in an interview at The International 2026 about joining the Emirati esports club and shared his thoughts on the year’s biggest tournament.
On joining Nigma Galaxy
I was looking for players who wanted to compete at the EWC and TI, and we simply talked to the guys at Nigma about it, and I had the option to join them.
On his lack of confidence in finding a team
It feels like it’s very hard to find a good roster in Dota right now. Teams stay together for a long time and don’t change players, so it’s really not easy to get on a team—that’s why I wasn’t confident.
On role distribution with SumaiL
[Question: “Did you discuss with SumaiL who would take which role?”]
To be honest, not really. I’d say SumaiL isn’t really enjoying playing mid right now. He probably wants to change something in his life to bring in something new. We needed to shake things up a bit, and I think it worked—it really worked well. So I didn’t talk to him about it; it was mostly his choice.
On exchanging ideas with KuroKy
Well, a little, yeah. A little. If you’re working with someone with an eye toward the future, you need to communicate well with the guys and figure out how you want to play and how you can all work toward the same goal. I don’t think that’s hard for me, to be honest. I can be pretty easygoing in that regard.
On playing at The International
I’m not nervous about it right now. I don’t know, it’s pretty good here—it’s nice to be playing at this TI, and it’s a great time. I just want to focus on myself, but I feel like this TI is really important to me. It’s my biggest tournament of the year, so it’s important.
Read also: Adekvat on lorenof: “One of the best mid laners has finally found a roster to take him to TI.”
Nigma Galaxy currently has two wins and one loss in the group stage of The International 2026. Their current record keeps them from being eliminated and keeps their chances alive of advancing to the knockout stage.
