Image: Team Spirit
Mira leaves Team Spirit after over four years and two TI championships together.
Two-time Dota 2 The International (TI) champions 
Team Spirit announced on Wednesday (27 February) that longtime position 4 support player 
Miroslaw “Mira” Kolpakov has parted ways with the organisation after over four years under their banner.
Spirit did not directly cite a reason behind Mira's departure in their announcement, though he had been in the team's inactive roster since last September in order to take a break from competitive play. Since then, Spirit had been playing with 
Alexandr “rue” Filin as their position 4 support player.
Alongside their announcement of Mira's departure, Spirit also released a video where members of the team's playing roster and staff expressed their gratitude for the departing player's contributions to the organisation.
Spirit captain Yaroslav “Miposhka” Naidenov said Mira was invaluable to the team's success, adding that “we would not have become who we are" without Mira.
“Mira wouldn't give up no matter how much pressure was put on him. He was always trying to work on himself, on his game, and, let's say, his position on the team. We achieved great success with him. I would point out that, with any other player, we would not have become who we are,” said Miposhka.
Spirit carry player Illya “Raddan” Mulyarchuk said he cherishes “a lot of good memories together” with Mira as the team grew into one of the most successful rosters in the history of Dota 2, becoming the second-ever team to raise the Aegis of Champions twice.
"We have a lot of good memories together, winning tournaments and losing tournaments. Well, you can't win without losing. In that time, we've grown together as players, so to speak, under the wings of Team Spirit. We learnt a lot, we grew into professionals, we became good players," said Raddan.
Meanwhile, Spirit offlaner Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov and coach Airat “Silent” Gaziev credited Mira's resilience as a huge factor in the team's success over the years.
“He doesn't give up, he plays 'til the end. Until the end, still trying to find ways to win; a man who doesn't give up. He's always trying to solve a problem or help somehow,” said Collapse.
"Throughout our work together with Mira, I think he's changed quite a lot. He's become more confident as a player, as a teammate, as a person. Even on True Sight there were moments when there was a game versus LGD with Magnus, the game was almost lost, and the guys, maybe [Collapse], said "We should call GG, guys" but Mira said “No, let's play some more, let's try to do something",” Silent added.
Mira leaves Spirit after over four years, two TI championships together
Mira began his professional Dota 2 career in 2019 with Cascade, joining Spirit in February 2021 to compete alongside Raddan (then known as Yatoro), Alexander “TORONTOTOKYO” Khertek, Collapse, Miposhka, and Silent. After barely surviving the TI 2021 Eastern European qualifier, the team would go on to become the unlikely champions of TI 2021 after they outlasted PSG.LGD in a legendary five-game slugfest in the grand finals that was documented in the TI 2021 True Sight.
In 2022, Spirit had mixed results as they finished second in Riyadh Masters 2022 and won the PGL Arlington Major 2022, but bombed out of TI 2023 in 13th-16th place, losing to BOOM Esports in the first round of the lower bracket in the Playoffs.
The team would have another slow start in 2023 before rounding into form at just the right time by winning three-straight tournaments in Riyadh Masters 2023, DreamLeague Season 21, and TI 2023.
Spirit's run in TI 2023 was notably one of the most dominant performances by any team in the history of Dota 2's annual world championship tournament, as they lost just two games throughout the entire event, culminating with a 3-0 sweep over Gaimin Gladiators in the grand finals. That victory also made Spirit the second organisation to ever win TI twice after OG.
In 2024, Spirit once again saw mixed results, winning PGL Wallachia Season 1 and 1win Series Dota 2 Summer before finishing 9th-12th in TI 2024 after losing to Xtreme Gaming in the second round of the lower bracket.
Shortly after Spirit's loss in TI 2024, Mira and Raddan were moved to the team's inactive roster as they took a break from competitive play. While Raddan eventually returned to the team earlier this year, Mira has now parted ways with Spirit after four years and two TI championships together.
Mira is still formally on a competitive break, but his departure from Spirit signals that he is aiming to return to playing again soon – albeit with a different team. While there has been no official announcement yet on where Mira is headed next, he should be one of the most valuable free agents on the market as a two-time TI champion. With the likes of TORONTOTOKYO and Egor “Nightfall” Grigorenko also currently being free agents, it is likely that Mira will remain in Eastern Europe to create a new team to shake up the competition in the region.
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