Zais shared his impressions of the start of The International 2026
Commentator Nikita “Zais” Zakharov spoke about the start of The International 2026 on his personal Telegram channel.
The quote is reproduced with the source’s spelling and punctuation intact
The Dota festival begins!
Tomorrow (5:00 a.m. Moscow Time), The International 2026 kicks off! And from a competitive standpoint, it’s absolute madness!
This is a unique year in terms of the potential intensity of the upcoming battles. Who’s going to win The International? Ha! Who the hell knows! Just putting together the top 8 for the group stage is enough to make a bead of sweat roll down your forehead. And that’s incredibly cool! I’m totally pumped and can’t wait for the action!
Every team this season has managed to both wallow in the mud and visit Mount Olympus (or hang out in the vicinity). And most importantly: past successes and failures are just dry statistics. The International 2026—it’s a different Dota, a different world. Your track records offer no guarantees—they merely reflect your accumulated experience.
The foundation for the best tournament of the year is perfect! A bunch of motivated teams, hungry young players, and veterans in their final runs but still full of energy. The meta is wider than ever, and the prize pool gets more exciting every day!
Tomorrow isn’t just the start of The International 2026. Tomorrow marks the beginning of the most spectacular Dota event you’ll see this year.
Enjoy the show, everyone!
Good luck, have fun!
Earlier, commentator Nikita “Zais” Zakharov shared his thoughts on the participants of The International 2026 and called the merger of the Eastern and Western European qualifiers a wise decision, noting the unpredictability of the tournament’s lineup.
Photo: Nikita “Zais” Zakharov.
