Reigning TI champ miss Dota’s biggest stage in upset loss as China fights on

As we near the main stage of the 13th iteration of Dota 2’s The International, viewers have been treated to some of the year’s most exciting matches. But the tournament’s biggest upset so far took place yesterday when reigning champions Team Spirit got knocked out of TI13 by their former rivals.

In a nail-biting best-of-three elimination series, the pride of the Chinese Dota 2 scene, Xtreme Gaming, defeated Team Spirit in a reverse sweep. After losing game one to the former champions, Xtreme Gaming came back hard in game two in a spectacular showing that left Team Spirit visibly shaken.

The team then rode their momentum through game three on the back of Wang “Ame” Chunyu’s Medusa to a glorious victory over their long-time rivals. Xtreme Gaming is now the only Chinese team to qualify for the main stage of TI13 and will be fighting for the pride of their region on Sept.13.

Team Spirit’s loss left the team heartbroken. Xtreme Gaming shattered their dreams of a third TI championship win, leaving the Russian team stunned. After an emotional few moments, Pyrion Flax talked to Team Spirit captain Yaroslav “Miposhka” Naidenov in a post-match interview about the team’s performance and their unceremonious exit.

Miposhka mentioned that they didn’t play their best in the group stage by picking the wrong heroes, leading to the team dropping to the lower brackets, where they faced strong teams. According to Miposhka, the team’s final test, being a motivated Xtreme Gaming, caused them to lose because of several minor mistakes they made against the Chinese team.

When asked how Team Spirit felt about the current state of the meta, Miposhka said that playing meta heroes was never the team’s biggest concern. He mentioned how Team Spirit adapted quickly to the meta during Riyadh Masters, bringing many new ideas to the scene. However, the team couldn’t implement those ideas successfully at The International, ultimately leading to their loss.

Historically, teams who tend to win at TI often lose the next TI to a newer team with better ideas about how to play the meta at the highest level. Team Spirit achieved this by dethroning two-time champions OG at TI10 while losing their spot to Tundra Esports at TI11.

Who will hoist the Aegis of Champions this year? Find out by tuning in to the main stage on Sept.13, and, as always, we will keep you updated on all the latest happenings at TI13.