Tio Inka on the TI 2026 slot allocation: “I think it’s unfair that North America was given a slot.”
Commentator Paul “Tio Inka” de la Cruz spoke on the La Sopa podcast about the performance of South American teams throughout the season and the allocation of regional slots for The International 2026.
On Angel
If he had continued playing... He was really strong in the offlane.
[Blue: “So what happened?”]
He retired. He was about to retire, then came back briefly. He played a little, competed for Not Today in that final, dominated everyone—and left again.
On South American teams at the end of the season
They’re like students who try to cram everything at the end of the semester to get good grades. Of course, their efforts are recognized—they did everything they could—but why only at the very end?
No, of course, what’s recognized is what Vintage did at PlayTime, for example. After everything that happened before that, he returned to the team, to Parker, this whole situation happened with him—and everyone already thought it was over. Wits walked into total chaos; the guy was handed a golden ticket that was bound to end in failure. However, they performed well, qualified for the EWC, and that deserves applause. But the season as a whole wasn’t a walk in the park for them.
It’s the same story with LGD. HEROIC started off very strong, then at TI it was slump after slump after slump—they completely fell apart. Then this whole situation with the club happened, and today, at their final tournament, they’re crushing everyone.
On the allocation of TI slots
You know what’s unfair? The invites are fine. South America didn’t deserve a single invite all year. At the very last moment, in the final month, when the invites were already being sent out, that’s when it all came together. I think it’s unfair that North America was given a slot. All year long, only GamerLegion represented them. I would have combined North and South America and given them two slots.
This year, the organizers of The International 2026 combined Western and Eastern Europe and allocated four spots in the main tournament to the region. China received two slots, with one each reserved for Southeast Asia and North and South America.
Photo: Paul “Tio Inka” de la Cruz.
