Maelstorm on Nigma Galaxy: “Seven years of steady stagnation turned into a tremendous success.”
Commentator Vladimir “Maelstorm” Kuzminov commented on Nigma Galaxy’s advancement to the playoffs of the 2026 Esports World Cup in Dota 2 on his personal Telegram channel.
The quote is reproduced with the source’s spelling and punctuation intact
And that’s all it took, right? Switch the 5th man to coach and replace the mid laner with a stronger one. Seven years of steady stagnation have turned into a tremendous success—one that was unimaginable just two months ago. Finishing first in the group is, of course, just a top-8 finish in the tournament, but it’s already the playoffs—it’s something that didn’t exist before. It’s hard to imagine the team winning just one more game and securing at least a top-4 finish.
And it’s all well-deserved—it even seems like there’s room for improvement. Will they make that leap?
Earlier, Vladimir spoke about the practice rooms at the Esports World Cup 2026: “Overall, it’s a kind of base for major festivals and tournaments, especially for the early stages. With a million teams, there’s nowhere to accommodate them all.”
Photo: Vladimir “Maelstorm” Kuzminov.
