Team Spirit win The International 10

The tenth iteration of The International concludes with Team Spirit lifting the Aegis of Champions in Bucharest.

Fresh off their Lower Bracket Final Triumph against Team Secret, Spirit went on to face Chinese juggernauts PSG.LGD in a best-of-five Grand Final.

Spirit drew first blood by maximizing their timings, taking intelligent teamfights, and shaping the map the way they want to. Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk once again flexed his deep hero pool with a Naga Siren pick that LGD simply had no answer to. Wang “萧瑟” Chunyu’s Ursa looked daunting at first but was ultimately unable to land a single kill in a game where LGD were held to just five (!!!) kills.

Another Magnus masterclass from Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov saw Spirit double their lead. The Chinese side tried to play the long game with their Morphling-Earthshaker combo, stalling with Zhang “Faith_bian” Ruida’s split-pushing antics on Nature’s Prophet. Spirit, however, showcased excellent ward-placement all throughout the game and extinguished all hopes for an LGD comeback with a decisive (yet in the end, overwhelmingly one-sided) teamfight win in the Radiant triangle.

After closing out Game 2 with an incredible team fight, @Team__Spirit gain another victory, setting this best-of-5 Grand Final at 2-0. The Aegis of Champions draws near, with just a single win needed for Team Spirit to become our next The International Champions. #Dota2 #TI10 pic.twitter.com/ixQzMXP0rx

— The International (@dota2ti) October 17, 2021

LGD finally looked like their old selves in Game 3. Eyebrows were raised when Spirit were left to pick Magnus again but Zhao “XinQ” Zixing’s Rubick was more than prepared to keep him in check. Cheng “NothingToSay” Jin Xiang on the cheeky last-pick Tinker didn’t put a foot wrong and was instrumental to the tournament-favorites recapturing their groove. Vision is the name of the game and LGD were in full control.

And in the blink of an eye, the series was tied. LGD roared into a 7k networth lead as early as 13 minutes thanks to NothingToSay’s Kunkka, Faith_bian’s Magnus, XinQ’s Undying, and Zhang “y`” Yiping’s Bane making moves all around the map to give 萧瑟’s Luna all the time in the world to farm. LGD were in control from start to finish and wrapped up the game before the 25-minute mark. The Grand Final was going to a Game 5.

GAME 5!!! PERFECT ENDING TO AN AMAZING EVENT SO FAR. LET'S GO!! #TI10 #Dota2 pic.twitter.com/mJF6Dp1GAZ

— Wykrhm Reddy (@wykrhm) October 17, 2021

The last game of TI sees LGD go back to the reliable Tiny-Lycan combo as Collapse gets his hands on his signature Magnus. Spirit survive LGD’s early timings and force the Chinese side into unfavorable encounters. Alexander “TORONTOTOKYO” Khertek’s Ember Spirit was an absolute menace in teamfights, enabling Yatoro’s Terrorblade as he tears down LGD cores and supports alike.

Spirit could’ve sealed the deal after 32 minutes but backdoor protection saved LGD’s blushes. Unfortunately, it couldn’t save them from the inevitable five minutes later as 萧瑟 was caught without buyback while doing a questionable Roshan attempt.

Team Spirit make esports history and etch their name in Dota 2 legend. The Eastern European squad goes home with $18,208,300 USD while runners-up PSG.LGD ruefully walk away with $5,202,400 USD in their bank account.

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