Malik: “I don’t have much to boast about—I’m not really making progress in Dota 2 right now.”
Rune Eaters offlaner Abdimalik “Malik” Sailau, in an interview with Hotspawn, named an underrated hero in Patch 7.41d, spoke about The International’s prize pool, pointed out the main misconception among professional Dota 2 viewers, and commented on his current form.
On the underrated hero in the patch
Our “five” picked Lich twice in a row and won. Maybe aik is just too good on that hero, or maybe the hero is simply strong. I think Alim played incredibly well; maybe he’s just dominating everyone. I don’t know.
On the Battle Pass and The International 2026
I’d like to see a bigger prize pool there. This tournament is a celebration. Right now, all the teams are hungry for victory, but I don’t see that real hunger in the eyes of many players—maybe because of the low prize pool. And maybe that’s why it’s not as interesting to watch. There’s even less desire to give it their all. As for the Battle Pass—yeah, if they brought it back, it would be a lot of fun; after all, I spent a lot of money on it to unlock everything.
On viewers’ misconceptions
It seems to me that viewers don’t understand why some teams don’t push into the high ground to take down towers, even when they have the Aegis. They think, “What are the players doing? They have three cores against two—why aren’t they pushing right now?” In Dota 2, even if you’re ahead, when you get even stronger, sometimes you can’t destroy structures. You have to find the right moment. Everything always comes down to a single fight. I watch and see people writing, “Why aren’t they pushing? They have a 10,000 gold lead and Roshan’s down”—they don’t push because if they do, they’ll die. I don’t think people always understand that.
On my current form
I don’t have much to boast about—right now, I’m not making much progress in Dota 2. I’m improving more at table tennis. My teammates are beasts. I don’t know, they play like pros. I’m a newbie. So right now, I’m focusing more on learning table tennis.
Rune Eaters finished in 5th–8th place at the 2026 Esports World Cup in Dota 2. The team was eliminated in the quarterfinals of the tournament after losing to PARIVISION 0–2, earning $70,000 and 200 EWC Club Championship points.
Photo by Abdimalik “Malik” Saylau.
Semyon Nomerovsky
