Team Spirit won the main tournament of The International 2023 Dota 2 in Seattle for the second time. The Russian-Ukrainian team beat Gaimin Gladiator in the final with a score of 3:0 and received 1.4 million dollars (about 130 million rubles) for the victory. According to experts, Team Spirit had one of the best performances in the history of the tournament, losing only 2 maps throughout.
Why has the prize fund become smaller?
In 2021, when Team Spirit won The International for the first time, the prize pool was a record $40 million. At the same time, the winners received significantly less — 18.2 million. In 2023, the prize fund amounted to only 3.1 million, and the Russian-Ukrainian team earned 1.4 million for first place in the championship.
This is because Dota 2 developers Valve have shifted the focus away from the “Battle Pass” or “The International Interactive Compendium” providing additional content for the game. Part of the sales of the “battle pass” was sent to the tournament prize pool, so this year the amount of winnings was smaller. After winning the 2023 Dota 2 World Championship, Team Spirit entered the top 3 richest clubs in eSports in terms of the amount of prize money won.
Who is on Team Spirit?
Magomed Khalilov “Collapse”
A 21-year-old player from Russia and, perhaps, the main star of all Russian eSports. Initially, Khalilov studied to become a doctor, but took a leave of absence and began developing in Dota 2. The first teams were Cascade and Yellow Submarine. Yellow Submarine became the basis for Team Spirit.
Denis Sigitov “Larl”
Denis is also only 21 years old. A couple of years ago, the guy studied at the Novosibirsk State University of Economics and Management and participated in the student e‑sports team. Sigitov started playing for Team Spirit in December 2022 and, apparently, fits perfectly into the team.
Yaroslav Naydenov “Miposhka”
The 25-year-old captain of Team Spirit is from Zlatoust. In 2021, Yaroslav also led the team to victory. After winning the next tournament, Naydenov had to refute rumors about the end of his eSports career: “I’m not going to leave anywhere, but I’ll definitely take a break.”
Ilya Mulyarchuk “Yatoro”
A 20-year-old Ukrainian who has already become a two-time champion of the main eSports competition in Dota 2. Ilya also started in Yellow Submarine at the age of 17 without experience in professional competitions, but was able to make a name for himself.
Miroslav Kolpakov “Mira”
23-year-old Ukrainian professional eSports player. Miroslav began his career in Dota 2 in 2019 as a member of Cascade Esports. Over the course of several years, the player won twice with Team Spirit at The International.
In 2022, Team Spirit moved its office from Moscow to Belgrade and began relocating employees. The team has suspended expansion in Russia. However, in August 2023, the Ukrainian Esports Federation still blacklisted Ukrainian players playing for Team Spirit on the same team as the Russians.