Here's How a Bunch of Nobodies Won $18 Million

Team Spirit were not supposed to be at The International.

TI is the one of the most prestigious tournaments in esports, where history has been made time and time again.

But at TI10 - the first International in two years - the Russian underdogs did more than just make history.

They did the impossible, and became the new gods of Dota 2.

Music used under license from Associated Production Music LLC (”APM”).

[SDZ]

Everyone loves a good underdog story and TI keeps pumping them out.

[yeah]

They only won because Yatoro shaved his head, game him +43% winrate.

Icefrog nerf headshaving pls too strong

[haziqish]

This is why

We love dota and TI.
Most of us dont play dota anymore, but TI is special

[fajarn]

TI1 - Ukrainian Na'Vi won the Aegis.
TI10 - Russian Team Spirit won the Aegis.

With that pattern, if VP ever hoped to hoist one, I would expect it on TI100.

[danilohueitra]

There are a lot of things in this run. The 3-2 comeback to qualify, the beginning with that awful room, the bad starting in the group stage, winning all the games the next days, getting into the upper bracket and getting destroyed by IG(even the game that they won, IG throw), going to lower bracket, beating fnatic and have to face OG, the kings of ti who has lost only one series since ti8 group stage if I'm not mistaken, but Collapse's Magnus and the EZ GAME comes so ez series indeed, later facing VP who team spirit literally has never beating before, play again against IG getting revenge for that upper bracket match, have to face the best Eu team so far, team secret, and doing it in style to get into the Grand finals against the absolutely favourites and undefeated so far PSG LGD, winning easy the first two games, but getting destroyed the next two, and when you think that LGD has the momentum and their best and undefeated strat in tiny+lycan, Spirit comes with Collapse's Magnus again, this time uncountered, and wins the game.
Absolutely insane run, without any chances to be called a fluke. Men, everyone was just out of their mind, Collapse's Magnus, Yatoro's rampages and hero pool, Torontotokyo's game sense (dude, the way this guy constantly evades ganks even with smokes that makes a lot of space), and Mira and Miposhka vision game and rotations. I'm just hoping that this team doesn't lose any motivation to keep playing in the following tournaments.

[widya]

When TI comes, there is no other single esports that could come close to Dota2. TI is the world cup of esports and of course with the super amazing story behind it.

[chadson]

Other: TI10
Yatoro: All heroes challenge less go

[stefansanityy]

Yatoro had his pink hair and achieved his final form when he shaved it mid-way through the tournament.
They didn't add this to the video but when asked why he shaved his hair literally in the middle of the tournament, he said "it's a sacrifice to the DOTA gods".
LMAO shit was effective!!

[whitlermountain]

This was something crafted from a magical book, seriously.

The amount of fortitude you need to be on the brink of defeat, and to usher ontop the highest mountain, is an absolutely monstrous undertaking. Dr K (Psychologist of Evil Geniuses ) mentioned that this is one of the most stressful things a human can be put under. TI is absolutely ruthless.

Greatest TI ever. Shame there was no crowd though.

And that psychologist on Team Spirit did his freaking magical work.

[rygartainsworth]

The amount of Collapse memes skewering enemy rosters to the airport is at peak at that day... goosebumps

[ajrazberry]

I don't even play DOTA, but this still got me hyped for Team Spirit.

[firasabduldayem]

to give your opponent the best unbeatable draft they have (tiny+lycan) in game 5 in the grand finals of 40$mil tournament and beat it is the chadest move in esports history

[nbhage]

-They are not noticed/regarded by high tier teams as they are busy looking/analysing at their rival team.
-They are understimated by high tier teams
-They have nothing to loose everything to win than someone who have been in scene for a long time who slowly but surely looses the young spirit
They are the underdogs.

[gedehahsen]

The grand final was so surreal to live through. It's 6 PM and you take a bus to get home from a university - everybody is watching the grand finals in there. You come home and boot up your PC to watch the last game and all you hear is screams of fans from the streets. You come to university the next day and everybody is talking about TS, even people who know nothing about DOTA, even LoL players. I've never seen such a massive hype for a cybersport tournament, even the 2018 world cup came and went with less hype.

[ashrafsahdan]

Yatoro stole the Aegis from Miposhka was still the best moment of that final.

[MrBlueSleeves]

Putin's marketing guy: Ayo we won at Dota

Putin: Da fuq is a dota?

Marketing guy: Just sign here sir. Thank you sir.

[RandomStudent]

I can't wait for TRUE SIGHT, that drafting phase in game 5 will definitely show their reactions in the Lycan+Tiny vs. Magnus+Wyvern

[ihaveskillissue]

I wanna make it clear, this was no fluke. Team Spirit played extremely solid and with incredible discipline, which is especially incredible for a team so young. They played like seasoned veterans. Props to the coach, Silent, for putting all this together. They also said they had a sports psychologist that gave them the mental fortitude to go through all this.

[amplesstratleholm]

Team Spirit's lower bracket run is insane.

- They beat Fnatic. That team may not be the best SEA team, but it had more experience than Team Spirit.
- They clapped 2x TI champions OG, who kept 3/5 of their championship roster, and the replacements for those who retired are a TI champion and a TI runner up. "ez game" indeed.
- They beat Virtus Pro, who have been their bane at the CIS region.
- They beat Invictus Gaming, who defeated them in upper bracket.
- They beat Secret, a superstar European team with some TI winners who knocked down OG.
- Then they beat PSG.LGD, who also have TI winners and runner up in their roster, just a few hours after beating Secret. Team Spirit played 8 games that day.

Along the way they beat the Tiny+Lycan combo done against them multiple times. PSG.LGD was undefeated with that combo, and it wouldn't be a stretch if Secret can make that work against Spirit because of how gifted their players are.

I love OG's TI runs, but Team Spirit had a much better run Dota-wise.

[Antido]

can we talk about the LGD curse losing to cinderella stories? LOL