“I would consider PARIVISION or Team Yandex”, — Falcons midlaner on a possible team change

Stanislav Malr1ne Potorak gave an interview during The International 2026 in China, where he spoke about how his life changed after winning The International 2025, the relationships within Team Falcons, the state of the professional Dota 2 scene, young players, and the MMR reset.

Life after winning TI

According to Malr1ne, he only fully realized the significance of the victory about a week after the tournament, when he began receiving numerous congratulations. His achievement was covered in his hometown, while his father told him that his son's victory had even been mentioned at a school assembly.

The very status of having won The International is a privilege. After all, no matter what anyone says, every Dota player's ultimate goal is The International. Everyone wants to write their name into history. I'll look at the Aegis, see my name written there, and that's pure bliss. There's no other way to describe it.

The player also recalled his difficult path to the professional scene: problems with internet access, living with his sister, combining school with Dota 2, and helping his parents. At the same time, winning the championship did not take away his motivation, and according to Stanislav, the game will remain a part of his life even after he ends his career.

Malr1ne began his professional career in 2021. In 2023, he joined Team Falcons, and two years later, the team reached the grand final of The International 2025, where it defeated Xtreme Gaming 3:2 to become the tournament champion.

On relationships within Team Falcons

During their time playing together, the Falcons players have had to work on their relationships within the team. During one particularly difficult period, the team even spent an entire day away from computers with a psychologist.

We had a session like that, probably about a year ago, when we literally spent a day without computers. We spent the whole day working through everything and talking with a psychologist. It paid off, but those are already extreme measures.

Now we try to spend time together outside of Dota 2: playing other games and occasionally doing activities together.

It is worth noting that Andreas Cr1t- Nielsen previously stated that The International 2026 will most likely be the final tournament for the current Team Falcons roster. According to the player, the team has been together for too long and its members need changes after the championship.

On the state of the professional scene and the MMR reset

Malr1ne considers the declining number of strong teams in certain regions to be one of the problems of the modern professional scene. This is particularly noticeable in North America, while many strong players are gradually joining European teams.

There are no teams in North America right now. There are only some tier-two or tier-three teams, but you can't say they're doing particularly well. It's the same in South America: the teams there play at roughly the same level, and someone randomly qualifies.

There was TaiLung, who played really well, and everyone considered him a future star. It turned out that he was throwing matches. It's very difficult now to find a young, talented, and consistent player.

At the same time, the player noted the large number of CIS representatives on the tier-one scene and believes that the region continues to produce new talented Dota 2 players.

Potorak also highlighted the recent update that reset the rankings, but added that the system still needs improvement due to the insufficient number of players in Immortal Draft.

They did everything right, but there aren't enough players above 8,500 MMR, and I can't find a pub game. I searched for a game for an hour and a half, gave up, and went to play another game. I think they need to raise the threshold to 10,000 MMR. The quality of pubs has improved, there just aren't enough players.

At the end of July, Valve adjusted player ratings: after the changes, the maximum rating was set at 9,500 MMR, while the Immortal Draft threshold remained at 8,500.

On periods without results

After winning The International, Malr1ne went through a period when it became more difficult for him to maintain his previous level of motivation. According to the player, for about a month, he noticed that after five to eight matches, his desire to keep playing would fade, which made him start doubting himself. However, after the next few tournaments, those thoughts gradually disappeared.

I had this strange feeling that maybe I used to try harder or had more passion for the game. I was kind of down about it for around a month. I'd play five, six, seven, maybe eight games and realize that my desire to keep playing was fading a little, and I'd start getting into my own head.

Later, when we started playing our second or third tournament, I realized it was just a thought: maybe I had lost some of my passion for Dota because I had won The International.

The midlaner also considers pubs one of the simplest ways to regain individual form when results begin to decline. According to him, if he or his teammates start playing worse, increasing the number of pub matches is one of the first ways to address the problem.

At the moment, Team Falcons has advanced to the TI15 playoffs and still has a chance to become a two-time champion, having played with virtually the same roster for almost three years.

The International 2026 will take place from 13.08.2026 to 23.08.2026. Sixteen teams will compete in the tournament, and the prize pool has already exceeded $3,000,000. You can follow the championship in detail in the coverage.

Earlier, CyberScore shared the community's predictions for the championship playoffs.