Team Spirit would not be the first team to have high-powered sponsors.
Perhaps even more surprising than the team’s sudden rise to fame, though, is the report by online newsletter The Bell that an “extensive skins empire” could be among the team’s backers. Their unlikely victory drew acclaim at home the team appeared on Russia’s Channel One the same evening, and even received a congratulatory message from President Vladimir Putin.
After a series of embarrassing losses during the regular season and the open qualifiers, few had Team Spirit down even to make it into the finals. The International 10 is no ordinary sporting event: it is the world championship for multiplayer online battle arena video game Dota2, and comes with an $18.2mn prize – the biggest in eSports.įor seasoned cybersports fans, Team Spirit’s ascendency was entirely unexpected. The team of five youngsters – the oldest of them only 23 years of age – looked somewhat out of place, dwarfed by Romania’s biggest stadium. On 17 October, Russia’s Team Spirit triumphantly lifted the Aegis of Champions.
