HOTU emerged victorious over Inner Circle in a tightly contested best-of-three series at the Esports World Cup 2026: Open Qualifier. The match saw HOTU secure victories on Ancient (13-10) and Anubis (13-11), while Inner Circle dominated Nuke with a decisive 13-3 win. Despite the loss, Inner Circle's headtr1ck delivered an exceptional performance, achieving a 1.46 rating and impressive 61-35 K-D ratio. The final scoreline stood at 2:1 in favor of HOTU.