The former TI champion and captain of Team Spirit, Miposhka, shared his thoughts with GosuGamers on the meta, winning, and the format.
TI10 champions are looking hot in Seattle at The International 2023, and make a clear case for another historical run. They were the first first to secure an upper-bracket start and the only team to boast a perfect 10-0 game record at the end of the group stage.
We had a chance to talk with Team Spirit’s captain Yaroslav "Miposhka" Naidenov who was as wholesome and fun as ever.
Catch Team Spirit in action in the upper bracket semi-finals on Saturday, October 28th at 01:00 CEST
Team Spirit
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Team LiquidMiposhka interview with GosuGamers at The International 2023
This is your second TI in Seattle. The last time you played in the Key Arena was at TI7, do you have any good memories from your run from back then, under the Empire banner?
Of course, I have really good memories because it was my first TI and my first time at the biggest tournament in the world. That tournament was definitely different. We were an underdog team and we won the games against EG, it was a surprise series. We won 2:0, so I have a lot of good memories and it was a really nice experience for me.
After seeing how everyone performed in the group stage, who would you say is the toughest opponent at TI12?
The first team I would say LGD. We also played some scrims against them and they are a really strong team. Also, I would say Tundra, Liquid, and Talon are some of the strongest teams right now.
What is the biggest surprise of the group stage for you? (a team that exceeded expectations or a team that underperformed)
First is Quest. We also played some scrims against them and we felt that they were really strong, but they were eliminated from the group stage and it was a surprise for all of us. The other team is nouns which beat Tundra 2:0 which was also a surprise (laughs). I guess no one expected that result.
Have you made a goal to win TI12 without dropping a single game?
(Laughs) Yeah, we thought about this already. But I think it shouldn't be a goal, it's just like a bonus for your good game. If you are playing well, you can win any game. You need to stay focused on the game, you need to be focused on the right things like what you need to do, and how you want to win the game and if you win every series without losing then it's just like a good bonus. But we are not focusing on it. But if it happens (laughs) I guess it will be really amazing.
On a serious note, you are the only team to reach the playoffs with a clean 10-0 game score. Did you expect to have such a phenomenal start?
I guess no.... no, none of us expected this. We are not thinking about how we want to win, we are just trying to think about winning every game. It feels great, but we aren't thinking about this because we know that there will be a lot of hard series in the future... if you want to win the tournament of course.
“It went so well that now I’m thinking we should have picked a different opponent,” said Team Spirit’s captain Yaroslav "Miposhka" Naidenov at the end of what is a perfect group stage run for the TI10 champions.
Who would say is the MVP in your team for the group stage matches?
It's actually hard to choose one person. I think that every one of us does a lot during the games. Maybe someone does a little bit less and someone a little bit more but if I had to choose (laughing), Yatoro. I would say him.
How do you like the current meta, have the last few balance patches changed the viable hero pool significantly?
I guess I kind of like it. I like the heroes I have to play. I like those heroes. I like a lot of the range position 5 heroes. I feel like the meta is good for us, but if during this tournament the meta changes then we still have to find something and ourselves to get in the way of the patch.
How do you like the TI12 format with these two long breaks in between the stages? Would you have preferred the previous formats with no breaks?
To be honest I hate this format because it feels like some DPC series where we play one series each week and here it is the same. For example, we played against VP, and there will be only one best-of-three series in 9 days. Imagine it, we won against VP and now we have a four-day break. Why? (laughs) There is no reason to do these breaks. I don't know. I would rather play without the breaks. In the group stage, we played three matches on the first day. I also think this is kind of stupid because now there is a four-day break. Why can't we split those into one each day and then we don't have to play three on the first day and then none? There are a lot of options but this format is the worst in my opinion.
