As they were preparing to start their journey at DreamLeague season 22, we had the chance to talk to Team Spirit’s Myroslav "Mira" Kolpakov.
Team Spirit entered the battle for the DreamLeague Season 22 title coming from a mixed performance at BetBoom Dacha Dubai last month. Vastly regarded as the best team in the scene, the double TI champions placed just top 6 in Dubai and are now in danger of getting eliminated in the top 8 at DreamLeague Season 22.
We spoke to Mira about Team Spirits’ recent performances, but we also touched on this year’s tournament schedule and what the absence of the Dota Pro Circuit could mean for the Dota 2 scene overall.
You won two TIs, Majors, Riyadh Masters, what keeps you motivated to keep pushing and how do you stay hungry for victories after all that you accomplished?
Real life is pretty boring and there is basically nothing more interesting than Dota 2 to me. When I don't play Dota, when let's say I have to take a break, I just go insane super fast. So, basically, Dota 2 is my addiction.
I guess a lot of your fans can relate to this type of addiction. I'm going to take you back to post TI10 when you said that even though you won, you have the impostor syndrome. You won another TI since then and the Riyadh Masters last year. How are you feeling now?
I think the imposter syndrome will follow me forever. I never think that I am good enough. Even when we win I still think that I played poorly or that I was playing badly in some games. I am never fully satisfied with my gameplay and I find it super hard to leave this feeling behind me.
BetBoom Dacha was a mixed tournament for Team Spirit, with ups and downs throughout the entire event. It seemed to be a bit rough for you guys. Can you give some insight into what was happening with the team there?
We just got a bit lazy. We thought that a low level preparation would be enough. So, after we lost there, we reminded ourselves that we needed to keep doing all the small things that we used to do. We need to get back to a full practice regime so we can be ready and more confident in those small moments that can make the difference between a win or a loss.
Before BetBoom Dacha we had two long holidays, we were on a break for almost two months, so we need to get back in shape. We need to play more and we need to be more skilful in our next matches because at BetBoom Dacha the enemy just outplayed us.
A new patch dropped before DreamLeague S22, are you happy with the changes?
I am really happy about the nerfs to Mage Slayer, Doom and Lion.
Watching you at BetBoom Dacha Dubai I was under the impression that you quite enjoyed Lion in that tournament.
No, no, no I don't like playing it and I hope he drops off the meta completely so that I don't need to play it again.
Now that you have had some time to look at the format of the current Dota 2 season, do you prefer it to the DPC League system of the last three seasons?
Well, for the successful teams, this new system is way better. But overall, I don't think it's healthy for the whole scene, especially for the Tier 2 teams and players. I think it will be hard for them to improve in such conditions where there is only one or at best two slots per region to tournaments. They will almost never play a LAN in this system and they will never get their chance to compete against the tier one teams and improve.
For me personally and my team, this new schedule is perfect, but I think they should bring back the Dota Pro Circuit with a better schedule for everyone so that the new players can get their chance to show themselves.
A total of three DreamLeague events will be part of the 2024 ESL Pro Tour as well as two ESL One LAN tournaments. Team Spirit made it through the first group stage at DreamLeague Season 22, but they are one loss away from getting eliminated. They are also qualified for ESL One Birmingham 2024, which will be the next pit stop in the 2024 ESL Pro tour.
At the end of the season, the top 8 teams with the highest EPT points will be directly qualified for this year’s Riyadh Masters event at the Esports World Cup 2024. Team Spirit are the Riyadh Masters defending champions and before DreamLeague Season 22, they were in the 5th place on the EPT leaderboard with 2400 points.
More interviews from DreamLeague S22:
- Davai Lama: “You open a lot more opportunities for yourself by learning a new language” 
- Bach: “I simply can't enjoy mobile games” 
- Ekki: “Now's the time when tier two teams can start emerging” 
- FNG: “It will take some time for me to practice and become relevant again” 
- Yopaj: “This year seems a lot more competitive” 
- Ceb: “I don't feel limits when it comes to Dota 2” 
- 33: “ It's going to take some time to get the playstyles in sync” 
- Ame: “I don't think I am as good as Yatoro thinks I am”
