xNova on the 2026 Dota 2 Esports World Cup: “We have high hopes and expectations for this tournament.”
David Mchedlishvili
Xtreme Gaming support player Yap “xNova” Jian Wei shared his expectations for the tournament and discussed the current meta in an interview at the 2026 Dota 2 Esports World Cup.
On expectations for the tournament
We’ve spent a lot of time preparing for this tournament. We started our boot camp much earlier than other teams. We have high hopes and expectations for this tournament and hope to perform well.
On why they lost the first map, from his perspective
From my perspective, it’s not much fun to play. I’m playing Bane, and four heroes are targeting me at once. On the first map, we had a snowball draft; we started off well but made a few mistakes, giving them a few chances to catch their breath, which is why they came back. On the second map, we corrected the mistakes from the first one, so it went much more smoothly.
On the current meta
Yeah, I think so, and it seems to me that it’s harder to close out a game right now. The team that initiates is constantly at risk of making mistakes, so matches drag on for a long time, which requires more patience. What Team Falcons does is pin the opponent down at their base and build up their lead.
On the new coach’s strengths
I think they’re very similar. I believe Maps was Xtreme Gaming’s coach before, even back when xiao8 was on the team, so everything’s fine on our end.
Earlier, Xtreme Gaming support player Yap “xNova” Jian Wei spoke about his father’s support, recalled his first tournament appearances in Malaysia, and shared how his parents felt about his passion for esports.
Photo by Sebastian Pandelache, PGL.
David Mchedlishvili
