Maelstorm on the European closed qualifiers for The International 2026: “The competition promises to be fierce.”
Commentator Vladimir “Maelstorm” Kuzminov commented on the start of the European closed qualifiers for The International 2026 on his personal Telegram channel.
The quote is reproduced with the source’s spelling and punctuation intact
THE INTERNATIONAL QUALIFIERS IN EUROPE.
Yes, everything is combined this year. The competition promises to be fierce, and even though there are as many as 4 slots, don’t let that fool you. First, there are plenty of contenders; second, each team is allowed only 2 losses. Lose twice, and all 4 spots will pass you by. In the winners’ bracket, you need to win ONLY 3 best-of-3 series; in the losers’ bracket, if you’re eliminated right away, you’ll need 4.
The bracket is above; there are already must-win matches in the early days, and the favorites won’t be forgiven for any complacency, so it’s going to be a good fight.
Earlier, Vladimir “Maelstorm” Kuzminov commented on the South American qualifiers for The International 2026: “y0nd and I didn’t see a SINGLE interesting map in three days. Six matches—2:0, 12 uninspired maps.”
Photo: Vladimir “Maelstorm” Kuzminov.
