Team Spirit went from the underdogs to beware of to the champions of TI10, bringing the Aegis home to the CIS region for the first time since 2011.
The International 2021 was held in Bucharest, Romania. It was the first time TI was held on European soil since its inaugural event in 2011 at GamesCom in Cologne, Germany.
What should have been a massive celebration for European fans turned into an enormous disappointment.
For the first time in The International's history, the background cheer was absent. Valve made the decision to refund the TI10 tickets and go ahead with the event without any crowds in the stands. The decision came after the Covid rates in Romania rose in the days leading up to the event, along with the fact that players from Invictus Gaming and Team Aster tested positive for Covid.
But that didn't put a damper on Team Spirit's .... well.... spirit.
Team Spirit pulled off the unthinkable when they took down the Chinese juggernaut, PSG.LGD, in the grand finals of The International 2021 (TI10). Coming into the final day against all odds, these underdogs defeated Team Secret 2-1 in the lower bracket finals and then went on to defeat the tournament favourites 3-2 in the grand finals. It is the first time a CIS team has won The International after Na’Vi did it at TI1 in 2011.
TI10 also made history in hero picking, being the tournament with the highest hero picks till date. The event saw a total of 113 heroes picked at least once in the 194 games that were played, with only 8 heroes unpicked. Team Spirit’s carry, llya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk alone played a total of 21 heroes in the 36 games Team Spirit played!
Team Spirit went from underdogs to taking home the Aegis and a whopping $18.21 million.
Team SpiritTeam Spirit's journey was nothing short of spectacular. This team of mostly youngsters and 4/5 The International debutants played with unbelievable composure and presence of mind. The deafening influence of coach Airat "Silent" Gaziev was ever-present. The experienced captain Yaroslav "Miposhka" Naidenov knew what to draft and how to corral the players, making the most of the sheer raw talent the squad was filled with.
This was a team that got to TI10 through qualifiers, barely made the upper bracket, dropped to the lower bracket on the first day of the playoffs and after that, just didn’t look back. The only thing they kept mentioning was they were playing for fun.
Team Spirit The International 2021 Championship Roster:
Illya “yatoro” Mulyarchuk
Alexander “TORONTOTOKYO” Khertek
Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov
Miroslaw “Mira” Kolpakov
Yaroslav “Miposhka” Naidenov
coach: Silent.
Crafted by Silent, led by Miposhka, and played out by the entire team, Team Spirit was able to find a good mix between CIS aggression, objective-taking-oriented drafts, and late-game scenarios.
As perfect as it seemed, in the end, it wasn't enough to keep them all together.
The 2021-2022 was not the best season for Team Spirit, but they did end last DPC season on a high by defeating PSG.LGD again, this time in the grand final of the Arlington Major. Going into TI11, Team Spirit was one of the favorites, but massively underperformed, finishing 13th-16th with a first round lower bracket loss in a best-of-1 against BOOM Esports. The change in roster comes on the back of that poor showing in Singapore at TI11.
So where are these historic players now?
Well, four out of five of the players are still competing together and under the Team Spirit banner.
Team Spirit did not compete together for the 2022-2023 DPC seasons as they bid their mid-laner Alexander "TORONTOTOKYO" Khertek adieu.
TORONTOTOKYO not only decided to part ways with his teammates but also made a rather interesting role swap —playing under the BetBoom Team banner as position 5 support.
Both teams were able to clinch a spot at The International 2023 by accumulating enough DPC points through the season.
Team Spirit finished in 10th place with 1020 points. BetBoom barely edged their way into Seattle with a 12th-place DPC finish and lots of drama to make it a lively finale.
The International 2023
The International returns to the US after four editions held around the world. TI7 was the last edition hosted by the Key Arena in Seattle, where Team Liquid lifted the Aegis of Champions. From there on, each year TI went to different parts of the globe. Key Arena, which now is Climate Pledge Arena from Seattle will be the home for The International 2023.
Unlike previous years, The International for this year is split into two distinct phases; the group stage and playoffs (until top 8) are announced as under the phase The Road to The International, while the playoffs for the remaining 8 teams are announced as The International itself.
Friday and Saturday, October 27, 28 will feature the upper bracket semifinals, finals, and the first round of elimination matches. The top three teams will return to the arena on Sunday, October 29 for the lower bracket finals followed by the best-of-five grand finals.
