Team Spirit Becomes First Three-Time Champion of The International in Dota 2

Team Spirit defeated TEAM VISION 3-2 in the grand final of The International 2026 in Shanghai, securing their third Aegis of Champions in Dota 2 history.

With this victory, Team Spirit became the first esports organization to win The International three times, following their earlier championship runs in 2021 and 2023. Prior to this tournament, the team shared the two-time championship record with OG, who claimed back-to-back titles in 2018 and 2019.

The squad faced a challenging lower bracket run during the event. After finishing the group stage with a 3-2 record, Team Spirit lost an upper bracket series to TEAM VISION. In the lower bracket, Spirit eliminated Team Liquid, BoomBoys, and Team Yandex in succession before avenging their earlier playoff loss against TEAM VISION in the final showdown.

Ilya "Yatoro" Mulyarchuk and Magomed "Collapse" Khalilov earned their third personal TI titles, having competed on all three winning rosters. Denis "Larl" Sigitov claimed his second Aegis after previously winning in 2023, while Alexey "not me" Kosmynin and Alexander "rue" Filin won their first International championship. Yaroslav "Miposhka" Naidenov, who captained Spirit during their 2021 and 2023 triumphs, contributed to this campaign as part of the coaching staff.

Source: iXBT.games