HOTU were the underdogs for most of the Major race, but their last-minute title win at the RLG Tesla Cup put HOTO in contention for a European Major spot.
According to HLTV simulations, they currently have a 73.3% chance of qualifying and will next head to Moscow for GLuck Moscow Cyber Games 2026 — the final event before the invitation cutoff.
Q: Before the first match, I heard you say something like "We're not going to make the Major anyway, so we can just play relaxed." Was that your genuine thought and expectation, or was it a way to relax yourself and play well?
n0rb3r7: We talked a lot about making the Major and things like that, and in the end we concluded: just stop thinking about it, let it go. We played a lot of LANs, our performance was mediocre, and we failed to qualify for the 1win and Stake events, which basically hurt our chances. If we had at least qualified through one of them and won a few matches, maybe our chances would be better now.
But mentally, we kind of let go of the idea of "having to make the Major." Of course, we finally broke the curse. We finally won an event. That felt really cool.
Q: You've had roster changes this season. Tell me what's new in the team, and why you've come into your own in this particular tournament?
n0rb3r7: Compared to the previous lineup, I'd say we have more firepower. We brought in dwushka, he has less experience than us. But considering the way we are developing, I think we are heading in the right direction.
But most importantly, we finally had a three-month bootcamp. We sat in the training room, training and improving. Yes, at some point we won, got sick of each other, and went a little crazy. But it bore fruit. So I'm glad I spent those three months in the bootcamp with my brothers, going crazy together.
Q: There was an interesting moment. I saw on HLTV that you missed the veto for the first match. How did that happen?
n0rb3r7: To be honest, it was our mistake, just like they said, we forgot that the schedule was "back-to-back." We thought the match was at 18:00, so we were just calmly sitting and preparing, then the admin messaged us: "Have you left yet?" We said: "Our match is in two hours." Well, I won't go into the details, we messed up a bit.
Q: There will soon be a tournament in Moscow, which is also quite important. Will warming up in advance help you?
n0rb3r7: I think it will help either way. Because, yes, there are two Mongolian teams there, we don't know what kind of individual form they'll be in when they come to compete. We're warmed up right now, we've felt the tournament atmosphere.
I also want to separately thank Relog, they helped us resolve an unpleasant situation with our plane tickets, we might have had to skip the final. But the people at Relog met us halfway and bought other tickets. So we were able to make it in time for media day and also compete in the event in Moscow. So all is well, thanks to them.
Q: The main team in that tournament is 1win. They performed very well in the previous tournament. Do you think you will be the underdogs, or will it be evenly matched?
n0rb3r7: I don't think there will be a favorite there. It will just be a battle for Major spots. Yes, I have acquaintances competing there and stuff. But once it comes to the match, that doesn't matter. I hope it will be a great match with good results. As for what the outcome will be, we'll see on November 1.