Dota 2 TI12: Team Spirit whitewash Gaimin Gladiators 3-0

This past weekend, the esports world came on Seattle for the International, the last event on the professional circuit for Valve Software’s famed multiplayer online combat arena Dota 2.

The International was held for the 12th time, and it was the first time since 2017 that it was held in Valve’s home state of Washington. The top eight for this year’s International were determined over two weekends of qualifying matches at the Seattle Convention Center’s Summit building on 27-29 Oct.

The International 2023 (TI12) was won by Team Spirit, which also received the coveted Aegis of Champions. Team Spirit is only the second team in The International’s history to accomplish this incredible achievement. Team Spirit demonstrated its ability by defeating Gaimin Gladiators 3-0 in the grand finals. At the core of Team Spirit’s victory was carry Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk, who has now probably established himself as the finest carry player in the current Dota 2 landscape.

Spirit defeats OG at TI8 and TI9 to become the second Dota 2 team to win two Aegis in history. The only players who have ever won a second TI are Yatoro, Collapse, Mira, and Misposhka; the only newcomer who wasn’t there for their first victory at TI10 is Larl.

The victory confirmed Team Spirit’s spot alongside OG as a two-time TI champion. Notably, this is the first time Larl (Spirit’s midlaner) has raised the Aegis in his career. Gaimin Gladiators had a rocky start, reaching the Grand Final from the Lower Bracket Round 1 in the first round.

The games demonstrated Team Spirit’s superior coordination, flexibility, and draughts. The journey of Team Spirit to the Grand Finals was nothing short of incredible. They proved their worth by completely outplaying every other squad in the event. The squad only dropped two games during the tournament, making this perhaps the most dominant title run in The International Dota 2 competitions’ history.

The squad was unbeaten in the Group Stages and began its playoff run with a 2-1 victory over Virtus Pro. Spirit then won 2-1 against Team Liquid and 2-0 over LGD Gaming to earn a spot in the Grand Finals, where it would go on to win $1.4 million in prize money.

While this is a far cry from the $18.2 million it earned in TI11, the team’s status as one of only two organisations to win The International Dota 2 finals twice is now guaranteed.

The historic moment when Team Spirit raised the Aegis once more generated a lot of attention. Many well-known Dota 2 celebrities and talents flocked to social media to congratulate the squad on their achievement.

Team Spirit was welcomed into the rare club of multiple-time champions by Sébastien “Ceb” Debs, a two-time TI winner. Johan “N0tail” Sundstein praised Yatoro and Collapse for their outstanding efforts, while Janne “Gorgc” Stefanovski and Martin “Saksa” Sazdov dubbed Yatoro the “Greatest of All Time” carry. Meanwhile, Dota 2 broadcaster and analyst Kyle “melonzz” Freedman expressed confidence in squad Spirit’s triumph, congratulating the squad and praising their outstanding performance.

Spirit started the year slowly, but they pushed their way into championship shape with strong wins at Riyadh Masters 2023 and DreamLeague Season 21, riding that momentum forward into a virtually flawless run at TI12. Spirit dropped two games in Seattle, one to Virtus.pro and one to Team Liquid, after finishing first in the group stage and decimating the world’s greatest teams in the playoffs. This gives them a 19-2 record and a 90.5 percent winrate for TI12, the best win % for a TI champion in history, surpassing the 88.5 percent of TI3 Alliance and the 90 percent of TI NAVI.