This commanding victory not only denied Gaimin Gladiators their dream of a perfect season but also elevated Team Spirit to a unique position as only the second team in history to clinch two TI titles.

Team Spirit defeat Gaimin Gladiators 3-0, and claim the Aegis of Champions a second time!#dota2 #ti12 pic.twitter.com/Jz5qSFcmO3

— The International (@dota2ti) October 30, 2023

While Team Spirit faced a sluggish start to the year, they progressively molded themselves into championship contenders with significant victories at Riyadh Masters 2023 and DreamHack DreamLeague Season 21.

They carried this momentum into The International 2023, where they nearly swept through the tournament undefeated.

Throughout their time in Seattle, they dropped only two games, with one loss each to Virtus.pro and Team Liquid.

This impressive record of 19-2 secured them a 90.5 percent win rate for TI12, surpassing the previous TI winners and setting a new record.

In the grand finals, Team Spirit set the tone even before the draft began, as Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk made a bold sacrifice by shaving his head, a move believed to invoke a “bald buff.”

This superstitious act seemed to work wonders as Yatoro’s exceptional performance on Weaver in the first game propelled Spirit to a resounding victory.

The second game was closely contested, but Yatoro’s Faceless Void, a hero rarely seen throughout TI12, unleashed his full potential, including multiple Chronosphere lockdowns and a Rampage, solidifying his status as the only player to achieve more than one Rampage during a TI Main Event.

In the third game, Gaimin Gladiators initially appeared to have the upper hand with Quinn “Quinn” Callahan’s Pangolier and Marcus “Ace” Hoelgaard’s Brewmaster.

However, Team Spirit defied the odds, with Yatoro’s refusal to accept defeat and Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov’s game-changing Spirit Breaker leading to a dramatic turnaround.

In the blink of an eye, Team Spirit launched a relentless series of aggressive pushes and picks that secured their TI victory.

With this triumph, Team Spirit joined the exclusive ranks of Dota 2 organizations that have won a second Aegis, following in the footsteps of OG.

Yatoro, Collapse, Myroslav “Mira” Kolpakov, and Yaroslav “Misposhka” Naidenov also cemented their legacy as the only players to secure a second TI victory, with Denis “Larl” Sigitov as the newcomer, who wasn’t involved in their first win at TI10.

Despite their TI12 victory, Team Spirit’s prize money of US$1,414,763 was notably lower than their record-breaking earnings of US$18.2 million at TI10.

This reflects the changing financial landscape in the esports world, as their winnings were partially offset by a US$5 million victory at Riyadh Masters.

Gaimin Gladiators’ loss perpetuated the so-called “TI curse”, as no team has ever won a DPC Major and then gone on to win TI.

Their defeat marked their first finals loss of the year, securing them second place and US$377,214 in prize money.

They now face a period of reflection and preparation for the 2024 season, which will not feature a Dota Pro Circuit.

While Team Spirit’s victory was a momentous achievement, TI12 was not without its concerns.

The prize pool for the event stagnated at US$3,143,593, raising questions about the declining enthusiasm for Dota 2.

Valve’s controversial changes to the TI12 Compendium, which excluded cosmetic items, contributed to a drop in community contributions, potentially signaling a waning interest in the game.

As the professional Dota 2 scene faces shifting dynamics and diminishing prize pools, there is growing uncertainty about its future.

While third-party circuits are set to return in 2024, the persistent financial decline casts a shadow over the professional Dota 2 community, leaving stakeholders and fans alike to contemplate what lies ahead.

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Talon Esports had a fantastic run through the 2022 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC), finishing DPC SEA Tour 3 Division I in second place, despite spending the first two tours in the lower division. But Talon failed to achieve much internationally, placing 13th-14th at PGL Arlington Major 2022, ninth-10th at ESL One Malaysia, and 17th-18th at The International 2022.

Talon have since signed Anucha “Jabz” Jirawong, Chan “Oli” Chon Kien and head coach Lee “SunBhie” Jeong-jae, who has been coaching some of the best Dota 2 teams in the world over the last half a decade.

Execration did incredibly well in the lower division last season, and with just one roster change (-Ralph “RR” Pe?ano, + Juan “BDz” Manalo), they should enjoy a solid start to the new season. But beating Talon might be too much to ask.

Still, Execration had a solid showing against Talon last season and combining that with early-season rust makes Execration an appealing pick on the map handicap market.

Fnatic are one of the few teams entering the 2023 season without a coach following the departure of Lee “SunBhie” Jeong-jae to Talon Esports. Moreover, Fnatic also parted ways with Marc “Raven” Fausto and Anucha “Jabz” Jirawong, replacing them with Kim “Gabbi” Santos and Damien “kpii” Chok. Those are good additions, but they don’t make Fnatic any stronger than they were last season.

Geek Fam put together a very interesting squad, but interesting doesn’t necessarily mean good. Like Fnatic, Geek Fam don’t have a coach yet, and the team consists mostly of tier-two players. While Geek Fam have the potential to impress, we’re not too excited about them.

Fnatic look slightly weaker than in 2022, however, they’re going against a weaker roster with questionable synergy. It could be a close game, but $1.66 (with esports betting sites) on Fnatic is a fair price.

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Tundra Esports are the only team from the region that did not make any roster changes ahead of the 2023 season. That makes sense, considering Tundra has just won The International, so they have no reason to look for ways to improve.

Their next opponents, OG, have made one roster change, signing Dmitry “DM” Dorokhin as a replacement for Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf, who left to play for Nigma Galaxy. DM joins OG from Virtus.pro (Outsiders) is an excellent carry player who, like ATF, has a big champion pool and is capable of carrying games.

With the roster changes, OG didn’t lose any quality and should be very competitive in 2023. They’re still weaker than Tundra (3-5 in head-to-head), but $3.40 with Dota 2 betting sites seems a bit too generous. At the offered Dota 2 betting odds, and considering this is a clash between two of Europe’s top teams, over 2.5 maps makes the most sense.

Team Liquid had a slot to fill up following Lasse “MATUMBAMAN” Urpalainen’s retirement and ended up signing Micha? “Nisha” Jankowski, who joined Liquid two months after leading Team Secret to The International 2022 finals. Besides signing Nisha, Liquid also had to move players around, appointing Michael “miCKe” Vu to the no.1 spot to make room for the new mid laner.

The move shows Liquid’s roster’s flexibility, but it also makes us believe that they will be just as strong as last season. Losing MATUMBAMAN is a big deal, but with Nisha joining the roster, Liquid should be one of the top four teams in Western Europe.

Team Secret replaced Nisha with Miroslav “BOOM” Bi?an, who had an excellent season with Gaimin Gladiators, who enjoyed a lot of success in 2022, largely thanks to the Czech player. This move still feels like a downgrade, but we don’t feel like there’s much to worry about.

Liquid enter this match with a massive advantage of fielding Nisha, who knows Secret inside and out. But talent-wise, this looks like an even match, so we must take overs at even odds.

Entity parted ways with their carry Ivan “Pure” Moskalenko in December and replaced him with Alimzhan “watson” Islambekov, who has been moving around the Eastern European Tier 2 scene for a while. On paper, this move doesn’t look too promising, but there was supposedly some internal turmoil, so perhaps letting Pure go was the right call.

Gaimin Gladiators lost their mid laner BOOM but quickly found an excellent replacement in Quinn “Quinn” Callahan, formerly of Soniqs and Quincy Crew. This move might make Gaimin Gladiators even stronger, but there are questions about their new coach Aske “Cy-“Larsen, who’s a bit of an enigma.

Entity were significantly weaker than Gaimin Gladiators in the DPC last season, and even though all the changes, we don’t expect that to change. It’s early season, so we could be in for a messy game, but we have faith in Gaimin Gladiators to cover the map handicap on Monday.

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It happened again. HellRaisers fought their way into the upper bracket of CIS DPC and rebuilt its roster; however, this time out, HellRaisers’ new lineup looks very good. The addition of Nikita “Daxak” Kuzmin, Gleb “depressed kid” Zyryanov, Vladislav “Antares” Kertman, and Alexey “Solo” Berezin makes a lot of sense and could help HellRaisers emerge as one of CIS’s top Dota 2 squads.

A big addition is Daxak, who had a rough ending to the 2022 season with BetBoom Team but looked good throughout the year. And then there’s also Dota 2 veteran Solo, who got traded from NaVi and will play a key role in HellRaisers’ climb to the top.

Nemiga Gaming are the only team in the DPC (besides Tundra Esports) that didn’t make a single roster move. The only change ahead of the 2023 season was the signing of Alexei “j4” Lipai, who joins Nemiga as head coach.

The decision to keep its roster intact gives Nemiga Gaming a huge advantage over other EEU DPC squads, so it’s not too crazy to believe that Nemiga can win the opening tour of the season. But even though we’re confident in Nemiga’s performances early into the 2023 DPC season, it’s hard to pass on HellRaisers at $2.75.

Ahead of the 2023 Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) season, Natus Vincere parted ways with captain Alexey “Solo” Berezin and no.2 Volodymyr “Noone” Minenko to make room for Arman “Malady” Orazbayev and Nikita “Nicky’Cool” Ostakhov, formerly of HellRaiers and Project Armor. Losing Solo stings a bit, but overall, NaVi have a competitive roster with the right mix of young and experienced players.

Their next opponents, Darkside consists of the former BetBoom Team core in Vladimir “RodjER” Nikogosian and Akbar “SoNNeikO” Butaev, who teamed up with Vladislav “DkFogas” Frolov, Maxim “re1bl” Afanasyev, and CIS Dota 2 legend Roman “RAMZES666” Kushnarev. The latter will play a major role in this team’s success alongside re1bl, who had a great past season when he made a name for himself as one of the future CIS Dota 2 esport stars.

The esports betting sites have priced Darkside as a favourite, which sounds right, but even $1.79 looks a bit too generous. This is a solid team with a substantial upside, and while you can say the same for NaVi, the latter have a lot more to prove.

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When a team reaches the peak of the competitive scene, fans expect them to maintain a certain level of performance, even if they take a break from the scene. This is especially true for teams with a large and dedicated fan base like OG’s Dota 2 division. While OG’s current roster is similar to that which they selected at the beginning of the 2022 Dota Pro Circuit, rumors have surfaced about a secondary lineup featuring two familiar names to Dota fans: Topias “Topson” Taavitsainen and Volodymyr “Noone” Minenko.

Both players have recently returned to the game after taking breaks, with Topson joining T1 for a failed run in the TI11 qualifiers and No one playing on and off for Natus Vincere without much success. Now, the two will team up as the core duo for a new lineup called Old G, which is intended to be a more laid-back yet competitive approach to a secondary roster for OG.

There were rumors that the Old G lineup would be led by none other than Johan “N0tail” Sundstein, who is making his own return to competitive gaming. It is possible that other “classics” like former OG coach Sébastien “Ceb” Debs might also be part of the team, though there is no confirmation of who else might be joining.

In an interview held in October, n0tail hinted that he was open to the idea of an “old but gold run” with OG, which would make this new lineup a perfect fit. Furthermore, the name Old G could be a reference to the former Old but Gold CIS stack, adding to the sense of full-circle completion.

However, the main OG roster is left with one spot to fill after they had parted ways with Ammar “ATF” Al-Assaf, who recently joined Team Nigma Galaxy.

The franchise had announced his departure from the team, stating that the adventure with the 17-year old has come to end.

“What, an adventure it has been,” the franchise wrote.

“Today marks the official departure of Ammar from OG.
It has been an honor to work with him this year & see him grow into one of the best players in the scene.

“A young star that will for sure beam in the ranks of Nigma Galaxy.
Thank you, Ammar!”

The second roster, on the other hand, will be the opposite of the old OG.Seed lineup, which focused on developing young talent, and will instead give some experienced players the opportunity to show that they still have what it takes.

More details and confirmation of the Old G lineup are expected to be announced before December 9th, which is the announced deadline for the roster lock for the 2023 Winter DPC Tour.

While the roster has not yet been officially announced, two more players including n0tail, have been added under Old G. Aside from the addition of n0tail to the roster, former Quincy Crew player Arif “MSS” Anwar, will be added to the roster as the team’s second support.

This will be MSS’s first time playing in Europe since his brief run with mousesports in 2014, which saw him make his first The International appearance.

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