Russia’s Team Spirit, which unites cyber athletes from across the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), has emerged victorious in the final of The International 10 Dota 2 championship, defeating China’s PSG.LGD. The two teams clashed in an intense battle and were tied 2-2 ahead of the final map that decided who would win the $18.2 million price. PSG.LGD won $5.2 million, securing the second place.
The Russian team had a rough start at this year's International losing 1-2 to Chinese Invictus Gaming in the quarterfinals. However, they bounced back after dropping to a lower bracket, making a series of five decisive victories against other dropouts, including the Invictus Gaming, whom they defeated 2-0 this time around.
Team Spirit was first founded back in 2015, but quickly fell apart the following year after unsuccessful initial attempts at the cybersports arena. The group was reassembled with a new roster of players in December 2016. It has since secured a place in the top-6 teams in CS:GO in the HLTV rankings, fourth place in the Hearthstone World Championship in 2020, and landed 10th in the ESL Dota 2 championship earlier this year.
The 10th International Dota 2 championship took place in Bucharest, Romania this year after its organisers, the developer of the game Valve, had to urgently move the event from Sweden, where it didn't get permission due to COVID-19 restrictions. In 2020, The International was cancelled the first time since its launch in 2011 due to lockdowns caused by the spread of the coronavirus.