Maelstorm on South America’s qualifiers for The International 2026: “In three days, we didn’t see a SINGLE interesting map”
Commentator Vladimir “Maelstorm” Kuzminov spoke out on his personal Telegram channel about the closed South American qualifiers for The International 2026.
The quote is reproduced with the source’s spelling and punctuation intact
I recommend checking out South America today. Yond and I didn’t see a SINGLE interesting map in three days. Six 2-0 matches, 12 uninspired maps. Let me clarify: they weren’t just strange—they were won by the favorites with literally no resistance, and we watched 30-minute drags every single time. For Kristal and Arzik, who were commentating on the second halves of the matches, the situation was JUST a little better, but not by much.
However, everything will change today. Right now, in the first series, Parker and K1 are having a fierce showdown, and closer to 11:00 p.m., we’ll see a preview of the battle for the spot:
LGD vs. Playtime
Considering there’s only one spot up for grabs, this is arguably the most important and exciting match of the entire qualifiers—only tomorrow’s grand final will be more important.
- Read also: “Very few people can go 24/7 without making a single mistake”: Maelstorm on streamers’ quotes
Earlier, commentator Vladimir “Maelstorm” Kuzminov spoke during a live stream on Twitch about OG’s problems, Team Spirit’s prospects, and stated that he would like to see the end of the “era” of the CIS-region roster.
Photo — Vladimir “Maelstorm” Kuzminov.
