StrangeR commented on L1GA TEAM’s elimination from the 2026 Esports World Cup in Dota 2
L1GA TEAM’s sports director, Alexander “StrangeR” Solomonov, commented on the team’s elimination from the 2026 Dota 2 Esports World Cup on his personal Telegram channel and shared his thoughts on the tournament’s organization.
Quotes are reproduced with the source’s spelling and punctuation intact
On L1GA TEAM’s elimination
EWC 2026—results for L1GA Team.
After qualifying for the tournament, our minimum goal was to advance out of the group stage, and then take it from there based on the resulting bracket.
When I found out we’d have to play with a stand-in, I set aside my expectations and worked with what we had.
Despite the substitution factor and the fact that it was the first LAN tournament for some players, we performed much worse than we could have, and we understand that. We’re not making excuses; we’re ashamed, we’re heading home, and we’ll keep working.
Leaving the tournament early gives us the opportunity to fully structure our training process for the Games of the Future and TI, which is truly important for our team.
I apologize to our fans for this result; as they say, we’ll come back stronger—and that’s not sarcasm.
On the organization of the 2026 Dota 2 Esports World Cup
As for the tournament organization, I’ll say that, as a manager, I liked it better than the 2023 event in Riyadh.
Yes, there were some missteps on the part of the organizers, but overall they did a great job—putting together such a large-scale tournament on such a tight schedule is no small feat.
L1GA TEAM failed to advance past the group stage of the 2026 Dota 2 Esports World Cup and finished in 21st–24th place. The team earned $7,500. Their next match will take place at The International 2026, which begins on August 13.
Photo by Alexander “StrangeR” Solomonov.
