Team Spirit win The International 2026!
1 September 2026
Just last week, we wrote an article about the VALORANT Champions Shanghai, which is set for September and October 2026, but that is not the only major international esports event to take place in the Chinese mega city in the second half of this year. From August 13th to August 23rd, for example, Shanghai hosted The International (TI) 2026, the traditional final of tournament of the international Dota 2 season. Russian organization Team Spirit won the fifteenth edition of The International by beating TEAM VISION in the Grand Final, despite losing to their eventual fellow finalists twice earlier in the tournament.
Great success for Team Spirit
A few years ago, Team Spirit would have certainly been among the favorites to lift the Aegis. While the Belgrade-based organization has managed to maintain a regular presence in the playoffs of most notable Dota 2 tournaments since they surprisingly missed the TI14 playoffs last year, their results have been a mixed bag. The Russians were back to their best for The International 2026 though, after a series of roster changes.
“Congratulations to Team Spirit, Grand Champions at The International 2026”, reads the official post-Grand Final press release, “After enduring a challenging year, Team Spirit regained their ultimate form just in time to take a five-game Grand Finals slugfest and claim the Aegis of Champions in Shanghai.”
Group Stage and Elimination Round
Team Spirit did not enter The International 2026 as one of the favorites and while their Group Stage was fine, it did not do much to change that status. The Belgrade-based organization finished in fourth place, behind TEAM VISION, Team Liquid and Nigma Galaxy, which meant Elimination Round. There they faced Team Resilience from China, who were eventually dispatched of (2-1). This earned Team Spirit a spot in the Playoffs where a familiar name was waiting for them.
TEAM VISION, again…
The Russians were not lucky in terms of their Playoffs fate, because they had to go head-to-head with favorites TEAM VISION in the Upper Bracket Semifinals. After beating Iron Wing 2-1 in the Upper Bracket Quarterfinals, Team Spirit once again had to face the team that had beaten them 0-2 in the Group Stage already. And just like in the Group Stage, the Saudi Arabia-based organization proved too much for Spirit, this time booking a 2-1 victory. Team Spirit dropped down to the Lower Bracket, where they subsequently overcame Team Liquid (2-0) in the Quarterfinals, BoomBoys (0-2) in the Semifinals and Team Yandex in the Lower Bracket Final, three major names in The International 2026.
…and again
What was left for Team Spirit after that impressive recuperating run was the Grand Final and it was once again TEAM VISION who were waiting for them there. The Saudi-based organization was brimming with confidence after comfortably moving through the Playoffs and now facing a side they had already beaten twice before in the tournament.
Instead of the classic best-of-three format, the Grand Final of The International, as usual, boasted a best-of-five format and this seemed to do wonders for Team Spirit. The Russians got off to a great start, winning the first map and that way laying the foundations for a 2-3 victory, crowning themselves The International 2026 champions in the process. And their winnings? A cool $ 1.619.900 compared to $ 495.500 for TEAM VISION.