Congratulations to Team Spirit, Grand Champions at The International 2023 and just the second team ever to claim the Aegis twice. This fearsome squad dropped only two games the entire tournament — finishing with a decisive 3-0 performance in the Grand Finals to secure their spot as the best Dota team in the world.
The Road to The International - Group Stage
The Road to The International began with a dominating 8-0 showing from Spirit, as they racked up 2-0 series wins over 9pandas, SMG, Entity, and Evil Geniuses in the Group Stage. The seeding round would be no different, as Team Spirit endured some early pickoffs from Shopify Rebellion in game one before marching away with another 2-0 series victory on their way to the Playoffs.
The Road to The International - Playoffs
There, they faced their first major test of the tournament, as Virtus.pro snatched a quick victory in game one to force Spirit onto their heels for a change. The following match was a bloody affair in which Spirit built and lost a sizeable lead before reclaiming momentum to force a game three. VP managed to keep the rubber match close for 30 minutes, despite never earning a lead, but after that Spirit took control — choking out VP and sealing the series with a late-game team wipe to earn some well-deserved rest before taking their run to the main stage at Climate Pledge Arena.
The International
Team Spirit's first opponent on the main stage was the consistently-strong Team Liquid, who were looking to make their own deep run to the finals to erase a heartbreaking stretch of second-place results. Team Spirit harried Liquid's supports and bullied their cores in a game-one stomp, but Liquid fought back with a spectacular showing to take game two. Liquid then managed to scratch out a small lead by the middle of game three, but Spirit overcame a kill deficit to build their own insurmountable lead, taking the deciding match to set the stage for a clash with powerhouse LGD Gaming — an intimidating lineup that had only dropped a single match of their own at that point in play.
Game one was a 76-minute brawl. LGD was aggressive early, but Team Spirit held firm before starting to take control. LGD kept clawing back, but Spirit skewered their chances, handing LGD their first loss on the main stage. Game two was Spirit's from the outset, as they steadily built an advantage and forced a tap-out from LGD. After a disappointing showing in Singapore in 2022, Team Spirit showed they'd regained top form as they stormed into the Grand Finals.
Their opponents: the dangerous Gaimin Gladiators, the squad that swept this year's Major tournaments and whose in-your-face early-game tactics had already shattered the hopes of so many lower bracket teams.
Unfortunately for Gaimin and their fans, Team Spirit had their own plans to make short work of their foes — they ran away with a relatively quick game one, building a huge gold and kill lead that left no avenue for comeback by GG. Game two proved a more back-and-forth contest, with Gaimin Gladiators earning a few small leads before Team Spirit broke through to completely dominate the late game and take a commanding 2-0 series lead.
Not about to go down without a fight, Gaimin Gladiators managed to take hold of game three early. By 30 minutes, even Dota+ thought GG had a 95% chance to force a game four... but Team Spirit's movement, vision, and team coordination seized that 5% chance and turned it into a stunning comeback, bulldozing GG 3-0 in the Grand Finals to secure their second Aegis in three years and welcome their mid-laner Larl to the champions club. Through both incredible individual talent and stellar team play, Team Spirit cemented their place in Dota 2 history as the last team standing at The International 2023.
As bearers of the ultimate symbol of victory, these names shall forever be inscribed upon the Aegis of Champions:
2023 - Team Spirit
- Illia "Yatoro雨" Muliarchuk
- Denis "Larl" Sigitov
- Magomed "Collapse" Khalilov
- Myroslav "Mira" Kolpakov
- Yaroslav "Miposhka" Naidenov
Looking Back
If you missed any of the tournament, or just want to relive the incredible moments and plays, head over to the Dota 2 YouTube channel, where you can find replays of the entire tournament, including broadcast content from between the games. You can also find a stash of photos from the event over on the Dota 2 Instagram and Dota 2 flickr.
We would like to thank all of the players, talent, and everyone in the Dota community for helping bring this celebration to life. The International is the crowning moment of the competitive season, and without everyone’s support, none of this would be possible. We hope you enjoyed this year’s tournament as much as we did.
Celebrate the Champions
Special Champion edition sticker capsules are now available for purchase for Team Spirit. Each capsule contains one sticker featuring Yatoro雨, Larl, Collapse, Mira, Miposhka, or Team Spirit. 50% of all sales goes directly to Team Spirit.
The International Compendium
Still have some challenges to complete and rewards to claim in The International 2023 Compendium? Don't panic. You've got two more weeks to hit your goals before the Compendium wraps up on November 16. Pull out some of your favorite new TI strats and you'll have things locked up in no time.
