Yandex secures thrilling victory over Liquid at TI2026

Team Yandex, the highest-ranked squad heading into The International 2026, backed up their billing with a 2-1 series win over Team Liquid during the group stage in Shanghai. The match, played on August 14, was the kind of back-and-forth affair that reminds you why TI remains the Super Bowl of Dota 2.

Yandex opened the series with a dominant first game, racking up 52 kills to Liquid’s 27. That kind of margin usually signals a quick 2-0 sweep. Liquid, apparently, did not get the memo.

A series that refused to be boring

Game two was a knife fight. Liquid edged out a 39-37 win, the narrowest kill margin of the entire series, forcing a decisive third game. For a squad that entered TI2026 with 44,133 ranking points accumulated over the prior 12 months, being pushed to a decider by Liquid was not exactly the coronation Yandex fans had scripted.

Yandex flipped a switch, dismantling Liquid 38-10 in game three. The 28-kill differential was the largest gap in the series, and it came at the moment when pressure was highest.

For Liquid’s roster of miCKe, Nisha, Ace, Boxi, and tOfu, the loss stings but hardly defines their tournament.

Yandex’s roster and their path to Shanghai

Yandex’s lineup features watson and CHIRA_JUNIOR alongside DM, Saksa, and Malady. The squad’s consistency over the past year earned them the top ranking entering TI2026, a distinction that carries both prestige and a target on your back.

The International 2026 is running from August 13 through August 23 in Shanghai, China. Yandex’s win over Liquid secures their advancement to the playoff bracket.

A historic shift in the competitive landscape

For the first time in the tournament’s history, no Chinese teams advanced to the playoffs. A TI held in Shanghai, in front of a home crowd, and not a single Chinese organization made it through.