Saksa on Team Yandex’s Dota 2 season: “In my opinion, it was a good season; we achieved some solid results.”
Team Yandex support player Martin “Saksa” Sazdov summed up the team’s season and thanked the fans in an interview at The International 2026.
On Team Yandex’s past season
In my opinion, it was a good season—we achieved some decent results. The team is very young. We’re happy with the outcome. Of course, it’s a little sad, but finishing in the top 3 at The International is by no means a bad result. Overall, I’m not too dissatisfied with the season.
On player motivation between the group stage and the playoffs
I always tell my teams this at TI: you can expect your opponents to slip up. It’s the kind of tournament where many teams perform much worse than usual. That gives me confidence, too. I tell them that all they need to do is focus on themselves and play their own Dota.
A message to the fans
I want to thank everyone who supported us and gave us a huge boost of energy. We felt motivated. Thank you to the fans here—the stands were amazing and exceeded my expectations. I hope there will be another TI here, or just more tournaments.
Team Yandex finished in third place at The International 2026. The team will earn at least $300,000, or 9% of the prize pool, which has now reached $3.3 million and surpassed last year’s total.
Photo: Valve.
