The International 2026 is down to the last eight in Shanghai's Oriental Sports Center after a bonkers group stage and elimination round saw multiple upsets stun people like me who thought we knew better. But what’s there to say about the remaining teams? Moreover, what does the data say? Let’s take a look.
Team Vision: the numbers don't lie
I’m not alone in saying that Team Vision (formerly PARIVISION) is the big favorite for Dota 2. They're the only side to go 4-0 through the group stage, and their 8-2 map record included three series wins over teams that also advanced: Team Spirit, BoomBoys and the impressive Team Falcons, who Vision recorded 56 kills against.
Vision is merely carrying on their form from the Esports World Cup 2026, where they went 16-3 and lifted the trophy, giving them a 19-3-1 record on Patch 7.41 against the current main event field with a 77-25 map count.
The individual stats are just as commanding. Alan 'Satanic' Gallyamov currently leads TI 2026 in average GPM (938), XPM (1,049), kills (14.10), and KDA (17.20) — numbers that outpace even his EWC 2026 showing, where he averaged a 7.75 KDA over 19 maps. EWC MVP Evgeniy 'Noticed' Ignatenko rounds out a terrifying core, ranking second in both average assists (20.10) and KDA (12.04).
Nigma Galaxy: the tournament's biggest surprise
WE'RE GOING TO THE PLAYOFFS!!! pic.twitter.com/NCQ1XwEgtF
— Nigma Galaxy (@NigmaGalaxy) August 15, 2026
Nigma Galaxy is generating quite the buzz at the moment and — I have to admit — I’m warming to them. They finished the group stage 4-1, dropping only their opening series to Iron Wing before sweeping OG, LGD Gaming, Vici Gaming, and Team Spirit in succession.
We can tie this run directly to a recent roster reshuffle. Nigma replaced Denys 'rincyq' Bohushev and Tony 'No!ob' Assaf with Sumail 'SumaiL' Hassan at carry and Artem 'lorenof' Melnyk at mid. Since those changes, the team holds a 25-15 map record — in other words, a 62.5% win rate.
The new duo is shouldering a lot of the load right now. Lorenof leads all TI 2026 players in hero damage (55,723) and sits second in kills (11.70), while SumaiL ranks second in hero damage (49,556) and third in last hits (677) and kills (10). Support pair Omar 'OmaR' Moughrabi and Maroun 'GH' Merhej are doing bits, too, with OmaR posting the second-highest deward count (3.70) and GH ranking fourth in assists (18.30).
Team Liquid and Team Falcons: the bracket's other dangers
Team Liquid enters the main event off the back of the team's strongest run of the season, meaning I have little choice but to put my head above the parapet and suggest they’ll be a grand finalist this year. Position-four player 'Ace' has received plenty of praise from fans, with some even going as far as describing him as a “monster.”
Of course, we also can never ignore Team Falcons, who are the defending champions. Not only that, they’re also the only side to have beaten Vision on Patch 7.41. However, Vision's dominant series wins over Falcons during the group stage suggest the reigning titleholders will need to find something special if they’re to defend their crown.
Writer's take and What’s Next
I’ll probably regret saying this later but Team Vision looks like the right pick to claim the Aegis. The statistical dominance is an objective fact, the hot streak predates TI, and Satanic's individual ceiling right now makes me think he could win this thing all by himself. That said, a Nigma Galaxy run to the grand final wouldn't shock me. SumaiL at a TI has a way of finding another gear, and this version of the roster has chemistry that we didn’t see six months ago.
The TI 2026 main event runs through August 24 at the Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai, with the grand final determining which team lifts the Aegis and takes the lion's share of the $3.17 million prize pool.
