SumaiL on retiring: “If we win The International, I might consider going for a third title.”
Sayed “SumaiL” Hassan explained why he decided to retire soon, while Omar “OmaR” Mughrabi shared his thoughts on the current state of the mid lane. The Nigma Galaxy players discussed these topics in an interview at the Esports World Cup 2026.
On map expansion
SumaiL: It makes the game uninteresting; there’s no room for improvisation. The gameplay becomes robotic: whoever controls more camps for 15–20 minutes is very likely to win. That’s what the game has turned into, at least in my eyes.
[On the old map] the games were more interesting—for both players and spectators. You had to fight constantly, and there were comebacks. If you wanted to provoke clashes, you could do so, but now that’s impossible: it’s very easy to avoid fights, and you can farm in practically every game.
On the off-lane
OmaR: My problem was alleviated in the latest patch. The issue was that you’d join a game and couldn’t stay off-lane. You’d lose the lane immediately. It’s gotten a little better, but it hasn’t been fully fixed. I still feel like the system is inherently designed to favor the easy lane. Offlaners have to focus more on surviving than on winning the lane. Maybe the developers could balance this out. Of course, the conditions are equal, since your team also has a light line. I just think it would be fairer if the balance were distributed equally, so there would be two identical lines where the best players would win.
On the reason for his impending retirement
SumaiL: I’m tired, to be honest. I’ve been competing for a long time. It’s not that I’m no longer capable of doing this, but rather that I can’t fully immerse myself in it anymore, so I don’t see the point in continuing. If we win The International, I might consider going for a third title. Even so, I can’t say for sure, but that’s the only condition that could motivate me to continue.
After the European qualifiers for The International 2026 concluded, SumaiL wrote: “I’ve qualified for The International—most likely for the last time.” The team defeated Yellow Submarine 2–1 in the slot match. The tournament itself will take place in Shanghai from August 13 to 23, with an initial prize pool of $1.6 million.
