Read about Dota 2, The International, and why this year features a notable presence of Russian players. Here is the story in concise terms.
What you need to know about Team Spirit
Team Spirit is a Russian esports organization that shifted its base to Belgrade in 2022. The group includes competitors from several gaming disciplines, especially Counter-Strike, Hearthstone, and League of Legends, but its strongest results come in Dota 2. In 2021 the team, nicknamed the Dragons, lifted The International trophy and later captured additional major titles. Team Spirit’s five-player lineup includes three Russians Yaroslav Miposhka Naydenov, Denis Larl Sigitov, and Magomed Collapse Khalilov, along with two Ukrainians Miroslav Mira Kolpakov and Ilya Yatoro Mulyarchuk.
Why Team Spirit’s victory stands out
With yesterday’s triumph, Spirit became only the second Dota 2 team to win The International twice. The first was OG, a European club, which won in 2018 and 2019.
The way Team Spirit won is part of the story: in more than a decade of The International history, few teams sealed the title with such authority. The Dragons finished 19-2 across the tournament and swept the final 3-0 against the season’s strongest rival, Gaimin Gladiators. Spirit dominated both as a unit and in individual performances; the tournament’s MVP is widely regarded as Ilya Yatoro, the standout carry player who many fans call the best in his role.
Season highlights also include Larl’s dramatic arc, which felt worthy of a film. Denis joined at the end of the previous year and faced relentless criticism when the team faltered, yet he trained hard and peaked during the summer, becoming a pivotal force and the chief driver of the championship. He was trusted by teammates to lift the aegis, the winner’s trophy, on The International stage.
How much did Team Spirit win?
The current Dota World Championship prize pool stood at 3.1 million dollars, a far cry from The International 2021, which paid out 40 million and remains a record in esports history. This drop does not reflect fading interest in Dota 2; Valve, the game’s developer and organizer, signaled a shift toward supporting amateur play alongside competitive play, aiming to broaden participation in the ecosystem.
In this context, Dota 2 has begun to resemble an Olympic-style event for the game, with prestige still high but prize money not always at the peak levels seen in earlier years. Looking ahead, organizers have teased a forthcoming world championship with a record prize pool in Saudi Arabia, signaling ambitious growth for the scene.
Spirit earned 1.4 million dollars for The International 2023, with additional, unconfirmed funds associated with other events during the season. Earlier in 2023, they also claimed victory at Riyadh Masters, the tournament hosted by Saudi organizers, which boasted a multi-million prize fund and highlighted the team’s dominance that year.
Results of Russian teams at The International
The most recent World Championship was a milestone for the CIS region and the Russian Dota scene. Nineteen Russian players participated, a tournament record, and four CIS teams reached the playoffs—a historic achievement in the game’s history. All four teams progressed to the final stages, underscoring a high level of regional depth. The final featured a Russian player, Anton Dyrachyo Shkredov, on the opposing side, a sign of the region’s continued prominence in the competition.
Virtus.pro emerged as a standout, climbing from underdog status to top the event, marking a notable breakthrough for the squad in Seattle. Team Spirit faced a tough test against Virtus.pro, narrowly avoiding a defeat that would have altered the narrative of the finals. While BB and 9Pandas also competed, their runs did not reach the podium; 9Pandas were eliminated in the early playoff rounds after internal issues, and BB struggled to find top-four form despite strong potential.
With Spirit’s victory, the CIS region is viewed as the strongest in the Dota ecosystem, a shift that is eagerly discussed by fans and analysts alike. The momentum is seen as a historic turning point in competitive gaming for Russia and its allies.