Graphics by Dyric Espinosa

SHANGHAI, China — Team Spirit shattered Team Vision’s unbeaten run with a 3-2 victory in the best-of-five grand final of The International (TI) 2026, becoming the first three-time champions in Dota 2 history at the SPD Bank Oriental Sports Center Sunday, August 23.

Vision entered the grand final undefeated after dominating the upper bracket, but Spirit matched their intensity and held its ground through a thrilling five-game battle for the Aegis.

Spirit struck first in Game 1 as Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk and Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov controlled their lanes with Shadow Fiend and Undying, helping the team build a sizable gold advantage.

Yatoro finished the opening map with a 16/1/7 KDA and powered Spirit to a 46-minute victory, giving the team an early 1-0 lead.

Vision responded in Game 2 after Spirit built a 30-17 kill advantage, with Evgeniy “Noticed” Ignatenko and Alan “Satanic” Gallyamov turning key fights in their favor.

The comeback allowed Vision to regain control and close the 64-minute battle, leveling the series at 1-1 and keeping its unbeaten run alive.

With the series tied, both teams traded cautiously in Game 3 before Spirit broke the deadlock with a crucial fight at the 38-minute mark.

Spirit capitalized on the opening and closed the map 26-24, moving one victory away from its third Aegis of Champions.

Still, Vision refused to fold as Edgar “9Class” Naltakian and Andrey “Dukalis” Kuropatkin powered a dominant 31-13 victory in Game 4.

Despite the setback, Vision fought back by catching Yatoro with a chain of crowd-control abilities, but Spirit weathered the pressure and eventually closed the 64-minute map, 34-31.

The win gave Spirit its third TI championship, while Yatoro and Collapse became three-time champions after winning the tournament in 2021 and 2023.

Article by Ellie Cabalhin