Maelstorm spoke about the importance of 1win Essence II ahead of The International 2026
Commentator Vladimir “Maelstorm” Kuzminov discussed the results of 1win Essence II in Dota 2 on his personal Telegram channel.
The quote is reproduced with the source’s spelling and punctuation intact
Yesterday, in the Essence II final, Liquid defeated the Falcons (3-0) to become the champions of the online tournament, earning $100,000.
What does this mean? Nothing at all. No tournament leading up to the main event reveals any real power dynamics. The relevance of this tournament at the start of the main event will be the same as the relevance of the first games in the Grand Final—zero. I’m thinking of doing a short text preview of the main event here, but the main point is this: there will be about 10 contenders for the top spot in this tournament—some more significant, some less—but we’ve never really seen anything like this before.
Earlier, Vladimir “Maelstorm” Kuzminov commented on the 2026 Games of the Future, which are taking place in Kazakhstan: “It’s not interesting, and there’s nothing to say. I think all major esports festivals are a questionable endeavor.”
Photo: Vladimir “Maelstorm” Kuzminov.
