n0rb3r7: HOTU ‘let go’ of Major hopes before win

HOTU’s victory at the RLG Tesla Cup raised the Russian team’s Major invite chances to 73.3%, according to the invite predictor. The roster had nearly abandoned its qualification hopes before winning the event.

HOTU will compete at GLuck Moscow Cyber Games 2026 in Moscow on Nov. 1. The tournament is scheduled to be the team’s final event before the Major invite cutoff.

The team had a poor run at several LAN events and failed to qualify for the 1win and Stake tournaments. Those results reduced its chances of reaching the Major. HOTU then stopped concentrating on the qualification race and tried to play without pressure.

“We talked a lot about making the Major, and we came to the conclusion to just not think about it, to let it go,” Danielyan said. “Psychologically, we kind of let go of the idea that we could make the Major.”

The Tesla Cup was HOTU’s first tournament win. Danielyan attributed the team’s improvement mainly to a three-month bootcamp, where the players practiced together every day.

“The main thing is that we finally went to a bootcamp for three months,” he said. “We sat in the practice room, worked and progressed. At some point we won, got tired of each other and went a little crazy, but it bears fruit.”

HOTU added dwushka to its roster for the season. Danielyan described the new lineup as having more firepower than the previous one, while noting that dwushka had less experience than the other players. He added that the team believed it was developing in the right direction.

HOTU also missed its first match veto at the Tesla Cup after confusing the schedule. The players believed the match would begin at 18:00 and were still preparing at the venue when an administrator asked whether they had left for the match.

The team will arrive in Moscow after competing at the Tesla Cup. Danielyan expects the extra tournament practice to help, although he is unsure what form the event’s two Mongolian teams will show. He does not expect a clear favorite because the teams are competing for a Major place.

“Once you’re on the server, that doesn’t matter anymore,” Danielyan said. “I hope it’ll be a nice match with a good outcome.”

Danielyan also thanked Relog for resolving a ticket problem that could have prevented HOTU from attending the Moscow final. The organization arranged replacement tickets, allowing the team to attend media day and compete at the tournament.

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