Team Spirit is shocking the world of DOTA 2! They came out of nowhere to become the champions of The International 10 (TI10).

What’s more interesting, they were crowned as the winner of TI10 after defeating the crowd’s favourite PSG.LGD, a more experienced, stronger Chinese-based team.

Their achievement in the TI10 makes everyone wonders how can Team Spirit successfully create their own “Cinderella Story"?

Find it out on these amazing 5 facts about Team Spirit below!

Entered TI10 Through Qualification

Team Spirit is one of the teams who have to struggle in the qualification stage because their DPC Point is insufficient to participate in the TI10 directly.

Through the Eastern European Qualification, Miphoska and the team defeats strong teams such as Natus Vincere (Na’Vi) and AS Monaco Gambit before qualifying for the TI10 from the CIS region.

It’s The First TI Performance for Almost All of Their Members

Nearly all players in Team Spirit have never competed in The International tournament before. These first-timers are Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk, Alexander “TorontoTokyo” Khertek, Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov, and Miroslaw “Mira” Kolpakov.

Even Team Spirit’s coach, Airat “Silent” Gaziev, only has two years of experience in coaching DOTA 2. Their captain, Yaroslav “Miphoska” Naidenov, is the only one who had competed in The International when he was still playing under The Empire in TI7. 

Their Struggle to Enter the Upper Bracket

Team Spirit was definitely not one of the favourites to win the  TI10, especially due to their mediocre performance in the Group Stage. They struggled hard to enter the Upper Bracket after collecting 5 wins and 3 losses, finishing in 4th place.

Miphoska and the gang were also beaten by a strong Chinese team, Invictus Gaming, on their first day during the TI10 Main Event, which only adds to the belief that this team won’t make it to the finals. 

Cinderella Story Started from the Lower Bracket

Playing without burden, Team Spirit advanced smoothly in the Lower Bracket. They defeated all the strong teams, including the last two TI winners, OG, and even gave payback to the team who dropped them to the Lower Bracket, Invictus Gaming.

Finally, they advanced to the Lower Bracket’s Final after defeating fellow Russian team, Virtus.pro. Their opponent in the final, Team Secret, was not able to stop them and Team Spirit advanced to the finals after a promising win.

Collapse, The Master of Magnus

In the Grand Final, Team Spirit was able to defeat the invincible PSG.LGD, even though they were the underdogs.

The key to their victory other than their solid teamwork is definitely the quality of their Magnus, piloted by Collapse. Team Spirit’s Magnus successfully devastated the enemy’s defence with an immaculate performance.

As such, Collapse was chosen as the MVP of the TI10!

That’s 5 interesting facts regarding the participation of Team Spirit in The International 10. The emergence of this new champion breaks the balance of power in the DOTA 2 scene, so the next season will even be harder to predict.

Can Team Spirit maintain their accomplishment like in the TI10? Let’s see their performance in the next The International!