Team Yandex bounce back from a shaky campaign to overcome Nigma Galaxy and reach the Top 3 at The International 2026.
Tournament favourites 
Team Yandex have ended 
Nigma Galaxy’s five-series winning streak with a narrow 2-1 reverse sweep, sending the fan-favourites down to the lower bracket of The International (TI) 2026 Playoffs.
The result propels Yandex into the Top 3 of the world championship, with an estimated US$293,047 in winnings secured. They advance to the upper bracket final, where they will clash with the formidable and still-undefeated 
TEAM VISION (aka PARIVISION) for a place in the TI 2026 grand finals.
Their Playoffs performance marks a crucial recovery from a shaky start at TI, which saw the team seed low in the Group Stage before clawing their way into the Playoffs through the Elimination Round. If they can maintain this form, Yandex have a strong chance of completing a championship-winning debut, which would earn 
Martin “Saksa” Sazdov his second TI title while delivering a first for the rest of the squad and the organisation.
Meanwhile, Nigma Galaxy’s Cinderella run will continue in the lower bracket, where they will play for their tournament lives against 
BoomBoys (aka BetBoom Team) on Saturday (22 August). The 
Kuro “KuroKy” Salehi Takhasomi-led squad still have a chance to clinch the Aegis of Champions, but they can no longer afford any mistakes with elimination now at stake.
Team Yandex make crucial recovery from rough start at TI 2026
Entering TI 2026, Team Yandex were the most consistent side of the 2025-2026 competitive season, securing podium finishes at seven tournaments, including a third-place finish at the Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2026.
Despite being one of the major favourites, Yandex endured a shaky start in their TI 2026 campaign, finishing the Group Stage with a 2-3 record. Their wins came against the weaker side in 
Huligani and 
Team Resilience, while they suffered losses to Team Liquid, 
Aurora Gaming and 
Iron Wing. Yandex then narrowly prevailed in the Elimination Round, edging out fan-favourites 
LGD Gaming, 2-1, to reach the Playoffs.
Despite the rocky start, Yandex recuperated just in time for the crucial phase, as the team swept Team Liquid in their opening Playoffs match, now followed by another hard-earned win over Nigma Galaxy. A Top 4 result is now secured, but the season’s top dogs won’t be happy to settle. They will fight against TEAM VISION, the touted bigger contenders, for a spot in the TI 2026 finals.
Nigma Galaxy’s resurgence at TI 2026 suffers setback
Nigma Galaxy’s run at TI 2026 has far exceeded expectations–and even that feels like an understatement. Heading into the year’s biggest tournament, Nigma Galaxy had one of the most barren seasons among the teams at TI, achieving little at Tier 1 events until just two months ago.
That was when Nigma Galaxy made crucial roster changes, bringing back 
Syed Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan–who had been benched three months earlier–and moving him into the carry role, away from his signature mid position. Instead, they brought in Ukrainian talent 
Artem “Lorenof” Melnick to fill the mid lane. While the changes seemed questionable at first, Nigma Galaxy have shown phenomenal growth since.
They qualified for TI 2026 through Europe’s qualifier and also finished in the Top 8 at the Dota 2 Esports World Cup 2026 last month, but there were still doubts over whether the team could maintain their consistency.
As it turns out, they have done far more than that. Nigma Galaxy looked beastly at TI 2026, losing only one series to Iron Wing on the opening day of the Group Stage before embarking on a winning streak against 
OG, LGD Gaming, 
Vici Gaming and Team Spirit–all in convincing sweeps. Their 4-1 Group Stage record earned Nigma Galaxy a direct berth in the Playoffs.
The streak continued into the final leg of the championship tournament, as Nigma Galaxy stunned defending champions Team Falcons 2-1 in the opening round. However, their winning run came to an end at the hands of Team Yandex, who handed them a narrow defeat to knock them down to the lower bracket.
What is The International 2026?
TI 2026 will be this year's iteration of Dota 2's annual world championship tournament, taking place in August in Shanghai, China. As with previous iterations of the tournament, TI 2026 will feature a total of 16 teams that earn their spots in the tournament by receiving direct invites or earning slots through regional qualifiers.
The list of directly-invited teams to TI 2026 include 
Aurora Gaming, BoomBoys (aka BetBoom Team), 
Team Falcons, 
Team Liquid, Iron Wing (aka 1w Team), 
Xtreme Gaming, and 
Team Yandex. Meanwhile, the teams that earned their spots through the regional qualifiers include European qualifier winners 
Team Spirit, TEAM VISION (aka PARIVISION), HULIGANI, and 
Nigma Galaxy, North American qualifier winner 
GamerLegion, Southeast Asian qualifier winner 
OG, South American qualifier winner 
LGD Gaming, as well as Chinese qualifier winners 
Vici Gaming and Team Resilience.
TI 2026's main event will be hosted in the Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai. Valve first announced that Shanghai will host TI 2026 during last year's world championship tournament, where Team Falcons claimed the Aegis of Champions after defeating China's Xtreme Gaming in the five-game grand finals.
This will mark the second time that Shanghai will host TI after TI 2019, where Western Europe's OG became the first-ever two-time TI champions after defeating Team Liquid in four games to claim the grand prize of US$15.6 million, out of the US$34.3 million prize pool.
TI 2026 will be split into two phases: the ‘Road to The International’ and ‘The International’ main event. The Road to The International will be a Swiss-style Group Stage from 13 to 16 August, where the 16 teams will be cut down to the final eight that will play in the game's biggest stage from 20 to 23 August in Shanghai's Oriental Sports Center.
TI 2026's prize pool follows that of previous editions, with a US$1.6 million base prize pool that will then be boosted through sales of the TI 2026 Compendium.
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