SVG: “Dota 2 needs longer-format tournaments”

I think that technically, essentially, PARIVISION beat them in the tournament, but lost when it mattered most—in the final game, which could have gone either way. In fact, it was one of the closest fifth maps in the history of TI Grand Finals. It was literally a coin flip.

I think this is a team that performs better under high pressure than virtually any other team in the world, compared to low-pressure situations.

In other words, they perform better on the big stage. That’s why they need longer tournament formats to reach that state—they need to build momentum and get into their groove. If they play just two series and go home, you might never see what they’re capable of, you know?

And I think that’s exactly what shows why Dota 2 needs longer tournament formats. Every tournament has its own meta. Teams need to study it, develop their understanding, and perform at their best. You want to see how a team can shift gears and put on a run like the one Team Spirit did.

And I think that also speaks to this team’s intelligence. There are definitely a lot of smart teams in Dota 2, and they’re one of them. The ability to recognize changes in the meta at TI, adapt to them, and make them work in their favor is an incredibly important skill. Very few teams are capable of that.

I think on the first map of the Grand Final, Puppey’s last ban was Magnus. And they showed us Collapse’s reaction on the player’s camera, and he was just laughing like crazy because that hero... It seems like he wasn’t picked or banned at all, or something like that. He was somewhere in the bottom 5% in terms of popularity. He was just laughing because he was probably thinking, “I’m definitely not playing that piece of crap.” But this guy has such a strong presence and such a huge impact on the game that you don’t want to give him Magnus in the grand final. You know, there’s a bad story associated with this hero.

It’s exactly this level of play that sets Team Spirit apart from practically every other team in Dota 2 right now. You wouldn’t do that against a player from another team. You don’t worry about so many different factors purely in terms of outplaying the opponent. You might think, “They play this hero very well in the current meta, and that’s a problem.” But you wouldn’t ban a signature hero who ranks in the bottom five in terms of strength just because this specific person is playing against you and you’re in the grand final. You don’t do that against players from other teams.

And for me, that’s exactly what sets them apart. Even when they’re not at the top of their game, you still don’t want to play against this team because they can suddenly turn it on, and you think, “I don’t want to be the guy they do that to.” And that’s why they’re scary even when they’re playing poorly. They just have this aura about them. And what scares me the most is that these guys are still young. They’re the most decorated champions in Dota 2, and Yatoro is only 23. He could keep doing this for another ten years. It’s just insane.

You know, people watch this grand final and say, “Look at Satanic. He’s 18. Look how young he is.” And I’m like, “Yeah, but Yatoro is only five years older.” He’s not some old guy. He’s 23. He’s younger than about half the players in the tournament.