Speeed on the victory over Xtreme Gaming at The International 2026: “Putting Centaur in mid had a big impact.”
GamerLegion support player Paul “Speeed” Boccicchio, in an interview following their victory over Xtreme Gaming at The International 2026, summarized the match and commented on Van “Ame” Chun-yu’s choice of Io.
On the first map against XG
Putting Centaur in mid had a huge impact. Fade also played Enigma incredibly well—we picked her for a tough lane against Lifestealer and Ringmaster. Basically, we caught our opponent off guard, and anyone would have had a hard time in his position.
[Question: “How did you come up with the idea to put Centaur in mid?”]
Some people play that way; we saw it with Team Falcons. I don’t remember if they won 2-0 or not, but in any case, RCY plays that way a lot... Maybe I’m giving too much away. Well, it’s already common knowledge that we play this way, so whatever. He’s good with this hero; he enjoys playing him.
On choosing Io for Ame
We thought this hero was only played in the mid lane. That’s how it’s been in their match history. I don’t even know what to say—I’m surprised. I thought they’d pick someone like Phantom Lancer or Sven—the heroes he usually plays—but they picked Io. Well, apparently, it didn’t work out.
[Question: “What worked for you on that map?”]
We had a well-balanced draft, and we performed excellently. We just played very, very well—we capitalized on the right moments and kept our composure; they hardly ever caught us off guard with Moonlight Shadow, which, in my opinion, isn’t that easy to do. Everyone played brilliantly.
On progress since the last loss to Xtreme
There’s definitely [progress]; in one of the games, we were way ahead, and they like to play passively, place defensive wards, and scale as the game goes on, and we managed to counter them. Back then, we didn’t quite understand what they were doing, but we analyzed it a lot, discussed it, and now we controlled our side of the map; and after they fell behind, we started to suffocate them rather than go after them. When we did go after them, it was a coordinated effort. As you can see, it paid off.
After defeating Xtreme Gaming 2-0, GamerLegion advanced to the 1-1 subgroup, where they are currently playing against Vici Gaming. At this point, the final standings for neither team have been determined; the group stage will continue until August 16.
Photo — SpeeedDota.
