Satanic on the Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2026 semifinals: “I think our draft was much better in all three games.”
In an interview at the 2026 Esports World Cup Dota 2 tournament, PARIVISION’s Alan “Satanic” Galliamov discussed the semifinal match against Team Yandex and explained how the team selected Invoker on the second map.
On the match against Team Yandex
I think our draft was much better in all three games.
[Question: “Even on the second map? Were you surprised by the choice of Monkey King?”]
Not really—we were expecting it. Well, in that game, I was mostly the one who messed up.
[Question: “Everything was going well on the lanes, but then the game dragged on so long that you couldn’t handle Monkey King?”]
I’d say the game was very easy; I just went for Enchantress and lost the Aegis. We should have built a big lead and won the game, but even so, we made a comeback because they let us. We killed Shadow Fiend, destroyed the barracks, but in the final fight, I just jumped in and died like an idiot. It happens.
On picking Invoker on the third map
When he saw Puck get banned, Puppey just said, “Okay, I’ll take Invoker.”
On Lone Druid
He’s a decent hero, but picking him doesn’t guarantee an automatic win. For us, Shadow Fiend or Drow Ranger are still better options, which is why our opponents ban them. Overall, I don’t think the hero is completely overpowered, and Yandex knew that, which is why they didn’t pick him. We’ve beaten him in practice and know how to play against him, so he doesn’t pose much of a problem, in my opinion.
After defeating Team Yandex 2-1 in the semifinals, PARIVISION advanced to the grand final of the 2026 Esports World Cup in Dota 2, where they’ll face BetBoom Team. Yandex will face Vici Gaming for third place—the matchday begins tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. Moscow time.
Kirill Alexandrov
