Yatoro: “We take a lot from Illidan—his strategies, heroes, and ideas—and try to incorporate them into our style.”
Team Spirit’s Kerry, Ilya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk, spoke in an interview at BLAST SLAM VIII about roster changes following their victory at The International 2026 and also discussed the current meta in Dota 2.
On returning after a break
Everything’s going well. Basically, nothing much has changed. We started the season with a new player and a new coach, and that’s working out well for us. There have been a few changes—and we’re happy to be playing and doing our thing.
On roster changes
I’d say that a coaching change is definitely more challenging. It has a greater impact on both what happens off the field and the game itself. We take a lot from Illidan—his strategies, heroes, and ideas—and try to incorporate them into our style. When you replace just one player, it doesn’t have such a strong effect.
On Anti-Mage in the current Dota 2 meta
I’d say the meta has changed a bit. There aren’t that many ranged carries right now—mainly Nature’s Prophet, Drow Ranger, and Clinkz. These heroes have a hard time against Anti-Mage. He also performs well against the current meta’s supports and offlaners, so you can pick him fairly often and with confidence.
Team Spirit won all their matches in the online stage of BLAST SLAM VIII and advanced directly to the upper bracket semifinals of the playoffs. On October 9, the “Dragons” will face the winner of the Aurora Gaming vs. 1w Team match.
Photo: Valve.
