Santa on Vici Gaming: “With the arrival of XinQ and Yao, ‘Vici’ have turned into real demons.”

Analyst Alexander “Santa” Koltan commented on the results of the Dota 2 quarterfinal match at the 2026 Esports World Cup between Vici Gaming and Team Falcons.
Quotes are reproduced with the source’s spelling and punctuation intact
On the first map
China is on fire. With the arrival of XinQ and Yao, Vici have turned into real demons. First, they staged a 50,000-gold comeback against Yakult in the qualifiers, and now they’ve swept 1w 2-1 and the world champions Falcons 2-0 (!!!). Fantastic
! The guys brought strategies from public games, and they’re working. Specter with Bom and Aghanim’s Scepter. Lina with Dagon. Medusa with Slark
Every single draft is broken. In the first game against the Falcons, Spectra’s ultimate reveals everyone, Sir pulls them in and puts up a wall—everyone’s in illusions, everyone’s screwed; it’s impossible to fight against that. The enemies are all invisible under the Cat’s ultimate, arrows are flying, and somewhere out there Lina is picking off people. It’s not even about the trio from Samara—Vicha’s pick is a piece of cake
About the second map
On the second map—an immortal draft. Fat LDs and Beastmaster under Trent’s Hill and the Cauldron, plus an elusive Slark with a shard, saving the whole team. It’s impossible to break through this; you’d need a 20,000-gold lead, and given the monster lanes, that’s impossible. Plus, Slark destroys wards, and there’s no escaping him.
Plus, Vichi picks Zeus as support with Rapier, Shaker in mid, and Sniper—not to mention the default Dota lineup. It’s such a thrill to watch a team that isn’t afraid to experiment and change the meta worldwide. I can’t even imagine what they’re capable of on home soil.
At the 2026 Esports World Cup for Dota 2, Team Falcons finished in 5th–8th place, earning $70,000 and 200 EWC club points. Vici Gaming and the Middle Eastern club will compete at The International 2026—this year’s tournament will be held in Shanghai.
Photo by Alexander “Santa” Koltan.


