Team Yandex defeat LGD Gaming to develop into the ultimate group certified for The International 2026 Playoffs

Team Yandex shook off a poor exhibiting within the Group Stage and bounced again within the Elimination Stage to qualify for The International 2026 Playoffs.

Eastern European Dota 2 powerhouse Team Yandex turned the ultimate group to advance to The International (TI) 2026 Playoffs after they pulled off a 2-1 reverse sweep over the event’s lone South American consultant, LGD Gaming, to shut out the Elimination Stage on Sunday (16 August).

With their victory, Yandex have additionally assured themselves a Top 8 end and an estimated US$121,885 in winnings. They now be part of Group Stage prime seeds TEAM VISION (aka PARIVISION), Nigma Galaxy, and Team Liquid in addition to fellow Elimination Stage winners Team Falcons, BoomBoys (aka BetBoom Team), Team Spirit, and Iron Wing (aka 1w Team) within the Playoffs.

Meanwhile, LGD bow out of TI 2026 in Ninth-Thirteenth place with an estimated US$54,805 in comfort, becoming a member of fellow Elimination Round losers Vici Gaming, Aurora Gaming, Team Resilience, and GamerLegion. While LGD fall wanting making the Playoffs, the actual fact they even bought this far is commendable when contemplating the circumstances the group confronted forward of TI 2026. 

Mere days earlier than the event started, LGD mid laner Santiago “TaiLung” Agüero Gustavo was banned from competing attributable to points with the participant’s aggressive integrity. To fill the opening of their roster, LGD needed to name on two-time TI champion Topias Miikka “Topson” Taavitsainen as a last-minute stand-in simply so they might compete.

LGD rise to the event in TI 2026 Group Stage whereas Yandex stumble

Not many anticipated LGD would find yourself dealing with Yandex within the Elimination Stage, and because the greater seed no much less. 

LGD had been already thought-about a wildcard group even earlier than they bought Topson as a stand-in, with many anticipating the remainder of the group would not have the ability to regulate their video games round their new mid laner rapidly sufficient. In stark distinction, Yandex entered TI 2026 with expectations of a deep run, with a possible grand finals look actually not out of the query.

But because the TI 2026 Group Stage and Elimination Stage would ultimately present, expectations matter little as soon as the competitors really begins.

LGD completed the Group Stage with a shocking 3-2 document. While they misplaced to Falcons of their opening match in Round 1, they rapidly bounced again in Round 2 by taking down Resilience in three video games. In Round 3, LGD bought swept by Nigma Galaxy, an comprehensible loss looking back when contemplating Nigma Galaxy ended up being one of many prime Group Stage seeds. 

LGD then closed out their Group Stage marketing campaign by persevering with to be the bane of the Chinese groups, defeating Xtreme in three video games in Round 4 and sweeping Vici in Round 5.

But whereas LGD’s Group Stage run exceeded expectations, Yandex put up a disappointing efficiency as compared. They solely managed a 2-3 document within the Group Stage, with their solely wins coming towards underdog squads like HULIGANI and Resilience. Yandex’s losses got here by the hands of Liquid, Aurora, and Iron Wing–all powerhouse groups in their very own proper, however had been seen as a category under Yandex forward of TI 2026.

That then arrange arguably the closest matchup of the Elimination Stage as a struggling Yandex squad needed to face an LGD facet with loads of momentum behind them.

Yandex reverse sweep LGD to develop into the ultimate group certified for TI 2026 Playoffs

Having discovered themselves in a do-or-die match for the Playoffs, Yandex lastly managed to return to their successful type. Despite a crushing loss in sport one, the Eastern European squad rallied in sport two then outlasted LGD in a 68-minute decider to finish the reverse sweep.

LGD opened the collection with an unorthodox draft that includes stuns aplenty, with Yuma “Yuma” Langlet on Sven, Topson on Dragon Knight, Adrian “Wisper” Cespedes Dobles on Enigma, Matheus Santos “KingJungles” Diniz on Centaur Warrunner, and Thiago “Thiolicor” Cordeiro on Mirana. 

Meanwhile, Yandex went for meta picks like Kez for Alimzhan “Watson” Islambekov, Earth Spirit for Ilya “CHIRA_JUNIOR” Chirtsov, Underlord for Dmitry “DM” Dorokhin, Lion for Martin “Saksa” Sazdov, and Witch Doctor for Arman “Malady” Orazbayev.

Game one began off with each groups on comparatively even footing till LGD blew the sport broad open with an enormous teamwipe throughout two fights within the backside and mid lane across the 24-minute mark. LGD did not waste this golden alternative and rapidly snowballed to take sport one in a 24-minute stomp.

Topson paced LGD’s 24-11 kill lead within the collection opener with 10 kills and 10 assists on only one demise. Yuma additionally pitched in with eight kills and three assists on two deaths.

Game two then noticed Yandex pull out the carry Io for Watson as a part of a really tanky lineup that additionally included Dragon Knight for CHIRA_JUNIOR, Doom for DM, Bounty Hunter for Saksa, and Undying for Malady. LGD fielded one other unorthodox draft that includes Yuma on a carry Vengeful Spirit, Topson on Lina, Wisper on Magnus, KingJungles on a help Centaur Warrunner, and Thiolicor on Mirana.

Mirroring what occurred in sport one, sport two additionally had a quiet laning stage earlier than Yandex exploded into the lead by successful a number of clashes thanks largely to Watson tanking by every part LGD threw at him. From there, Yandex merely fended off LGD’s makes an attempt to defend and compelled the collection to a decider after 38 minutes of motion.

Watson put up 12 kills and assists apiece on simply two deaths to gasoline Yandex’s 30-17 kill lead in sport two. CHIRA_JUNIOR additionally added 9 kills and 12 assists towards three deaths.

With every part on the road in sport three, Yandex drafted a pair of high-damage ranged cores in Lina for Watson and Snapfire for CHIRA_JUNIOR. DM on Dark Seer and Malady on Winter Wyvern offered some much-needed teamfight crowd management skills, whereas Saksa on Bounty Hunter was tasked with getting imaginative and prescient on the enemy to arrange initiations.

On the opposite facet of the map, LGD fielded a tri-core of Necrophos for Yuma, Dragon Knight for Topson, and Windranger for Wisper. Thiolicor offered crowd management from lengthy vary whereas KingJungles on Undying was tasked with saving his cores from getting bursted with Tombstone.

While Wisper suffered 5 deaths within the first 20 minutes of the sport, LGD had been firmly within the lead by the mid sport as Yandex didn’t have the firepower to match them within the head-on clashes. However, the tables turned in a disastrous battle for LGD across the Dire backside Tier 1 tower, the place Yuma was bursted down and KingJungles was unable to avoid wasting his carry with Tombstone.

With LGD dropping all momentum simply as Yandex’s lineup began peaking in energy, the Eastern European squad proceeded to methodically choose aside their opponents. And regardless of LGD’s finest efforts to mount a comeback, they might solely delay the sport to 68 minutes earlier than in the end conceding the collection and their place in TI 2026.

CHIRA_JUNIOR and Watson led Yandex to the Playoffs, with the previous placing up 17 kills and 21 assists whereas the latter notched 13 kills and 12 assists. Both gamers additionally solely had two deaths apiece.

What is The International 2026?

TI 2026 shall be this 12 months’s iteration of Dota 2’s annual world championship event, going down in August in Shanghai, China. As with earlier iterations of the event, TI 2026 will function a complete of 16 groups that earn their spots within the event by receiving direct invitations or incomes slots by regional qualifiers.

The record of directly-invited groups to TI 2026 embrace Aurora Gaming, BoomBoys (aka BetBoom Team), Team Falcons, Team Liquid, Iron Wing (aka 1w Team), Xtreme Gaming, and Team Yandex. Meanwhile, the groups that earned their spots by the regional qualifiers embrace 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, in addition to Chinese qualifier winners Vici Gaming and Team Resilience.

TI 2026’s fundamental occasion shall be hosted within the Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai. Valve first introduced that Shanghai will host TI 2026 throughout final 12 months’s world championship event, the place Team Falcons claimed the Aegis of Champions after defeating China’s Xtreme Gaming within the five-game grand finals. 

This will mark the second time that Shanghai will host TI after TI 2019, the place Western Europe’s OG turned the first-ever two-time TI champions after defeating Team Liquid in 4 video games to assert the grand prize of US$15.6 million, out of the US$34.3 million prize pool.

TI 2026 shall be break up into two phases: the ‘Road to The International’ and ‘The International’ fundamental occasion. The Road to The International shall be a Swiss-style Group Stage from 13 to 16 August, the place the 16 groups shall be lower all the way down to the ultimate eight that may play within the sport’s largest stage from 20 to 23 August in Shanghai’s Oriental Sports Center.

TI 2026’s prize pool follows that of earlier editions, with a US$1.6 million base prize pool that may then be boosted by gross sales of the TI 2026 Compendium. 

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