magic’s Esports World Cup 2026 run ended with a close 1–2 loss to FUT in the opening round of the playoffs. It was the team’s second tier-one playoff appearance after finishing fourth at PGL Astana 2026. Following EWC, waynay spoke with magic IGL Vitaliy sFade8 Marushka about the roster’s progress, whether opponents now treat them differently, and how close the team believes it is to the world’s leading lineups.
EWC became your second tier-one playoff appearance in two attempts. How would you compare your performance in Astana with the one in Paris?
Honestly, our performance in Paris felt much more confident compared to Astana. This time, we had a full understanding of what we were capable of. I can say that, if you take away the match against The MongolZ, we were pretty confident in what we were doing. But obviously, there are still many shortcomings that we are aware of and working on.
— sFade8
In the playoffs, you faced FUT, who later reached the EWC grand final. Your series against them was quite close. Does their subsequent success make you look at your own tournament performance any differently?
I do not think another team’s success can make you evaluate your own tournament very differently. These situations often come down to one or two moments in the game. But obviously, if we are talking about things globally and systematically, there are aspects we need to work on in order to consistently contend for the later stages of playoffs. I am grateful to God that we have the opportunity to play at tournaments like this and develop gradually, because that is how it should happen. For now, we are maintaining our understanding of the game and a positive development trajectory.
— sFade8
magic have improved a lot over the past couple of months. Do you feel that opponents treat you differently in practice and/or official matches now?
Honestly, not really. The main thing that has changed is that we now have the opportunity to play and practice against stronger opponents more often.
— sFade8
After EWC, has your understanding of how close the team currently is to the top rosters changed?
Our perception of the top teams has actually changed quite a lot. Even though many of them are not in their best form right now, it is still too early for us to compare ourselves with the top teams. We are still a team whose core has not been playing together for that long, sometimes much less than some of the top teams and their established cores. So we are not setting expectations. We are simply moving forward step by step and improving our game. I also want to say thank you to everyone for the support. There has genuinely been much more of it lately.
— sFade8
