ATF Criticized the Esports World Cup 2026 Format Following Team Falcons’ Elimination

Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf is dissatisfied with the single-elimination format in the playoffs of the Esports World Cup 2026 Dota 2 tournament.

The player made this statement on Twitch.

“It always feels bad when you get knocked out of a tournament. That’s how it goes—stuff happens. Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. It’s a bad tournament format. You won your group, got the top seed, lost one match—and you’re out.

We’d been waiting six days for that match. It’s actually better for your opponents in a situation like this because they’ve had practice. You’ve just been training the whole time, but you don’t even know if it’ll work.”

According to a statement by Ammar “ATF” al-Assaf, the esports player is feeling down after being eliminated from the EWC, but believes that the tournament format doesn’t give the team a second chance after a loss in the playoffs, despite their success in earlier stages. ATF noted that the long wait for the playoffs after finishing first in the group stage hinders the team’s preparation due to a prolonged lack of practice, which puts opponents at an even greater advantage.

As a reminder, Ammar “ATF” al-Assaf previously offered a mixed assessment of Team Falcons’ preparation following the group stage of the 2026 Esports World Cup.