young G named PARIVISION, Team Yandex, and Team Falcons the best teams at The International 2026
Nemiga Gaming midlaner Nikita “young G” Bochko shared his predictions for the group stage of The International 2026 in a video for the club’s channel.
On the teams that will advance with 4-0 and 4-1 records
...> I’m picking TEAM VISION to go 4-0. A month ago, the team won Riyadh, and with Puppey on board, in my opinion, they’re one of the strongest teams in the world. I think they’re even a contender to win this year’s The International. The guys are playing really well, they hold their lanes well, and they have very strong individual skill. They seem to be one of the most consistent teams right now.
Next, I’m betting on Team Yandex and Team Falcons to go 4–1. In my opinion, Team Yandex has been performing very well over the past six months. They’ve had some rough patches here and there, but they’re very consistent compared to the other teams.
Team Falcons played their last tournament against 1w Team; I was watching them. It seems like they’ve already found their meta. Malr1ne has a very strong hero pool right now: he has Earth Spirit as a flex pick, and he’s started playing Sand King again. He has a great feel for Dota. Plus, skiter’s heroes—like Tiny and Lifestealer—are also in the meta right now. Sneyking on Mirana, and so on. They have a good lineup for the current meta, with an aggressive playstyle. It looks like they have a good chance of making it into the top three—VISION, Yandex, and Falcons.
About the teams that will advance with 4-2 and 4-3 records
...> It’s actually pretty much a toss-up here, except maybe for Team Liquid and BoomBoys. Team Liquid also played at 1w Essence II. You can tell the guys have improved; they’re in good form right now. And their drafts are solid, in my opinion, and they play the map well. That’s why they have a good chance of advancing.
The same goes for BoomBoys: they have gpk, plus Save-, who will definitely carry the team to the playoffs—100%. [Next up] are teams like Team Spirit, Aurora, and 1win—it’s hard to make any predictions here. It’s unclear how well the guys will grasp the meta and how well they’ll prepare. There’s no 100% certainty that all three of them will advance. Perhaps the meta doesn’t quite suit Team Spirit—Collapse prefers to play Mars or Magnus, and those heroes aren’t in the meta at all right now. It seems like Dota has become a bit more fast-paced lately, but anything is possible; the guys could prepare well and perform well. It’s a tough call here.
The group stage of The International 2026 began on the 13th and will run through August 16. Of the sixteen participants, only eight will advance to the playoffs. PARIVISION (TEAM VISION), Team Falcons, BetBoom Team (BoomBoys), and 1w Team (Iron Wing) won their opening matches at the tournament.
Photo: Valve.
