Miposhka to take competitive break after The International win

In The International 2023, Team Spirit, led by Yaroslav "Miposhka" Naidenov, achieved something historic by becoming the second team to lift the coveted Aegis twice. This result is an incredible achievement, especially since they are the only team from Eastern Europe to do so.

Team Spirit. Mira Lifting the Aegis.
Credits: Valve

Fans eagerly await to see the team back in action soon, but there are rumours that some players might retire, just like the famous OG roster.

An Accomplished Veteran

Miposhka Reclaiming his throne. Credits: Valve

Miposhka is a veteran of the Easter European Dota 2 scene. He made his debut with Yellow Submarine, but it wasn’t until two years later he made a name for himself on the international scene with Team Empire.

At The International 2017, Team Empire had to play with a standin, but they achieved a 7th-8th finish, which propelled Miposhka’s name into the international limelight.

Soon after this, he left Team Empire. The player shortly joined HellBear Smashers before returning to his old team, Yellow Submarine. It was there that he found a group of rookies with tremendous potential and promise.

A Cinderella Story

Notail Lifting the Aegis for the second time.
Credits: Valve

OG was the top Dota 2 team at the time, having won The International (TI) back-to-back, a feat that no other team had ever achieved before. Additionally, Western European teams were dominating the LANs, with OG being the most dominant team.

The entire roster of Yellow Submarine got picked up by Team Spirit as they started to show potential. After a few roster adjustments, the team led by Miposhka was ready with only a few months left before The International 2021.

Team Spirit The International 2021 Champions Credits: Flickr/Valve

With only a few months of practice, expectations for the team were low. However, they persevered through the lower bracket, eliminated the back-to-back champions and even defeated PSG LGD, the favoured team to win the tournament. In 2021, he finally got his name immortalized on the Aegis of Champions.

The Highs and The Lows

Team Spirit.Yatoro's reaction after getting eliminated at The International 2022.
Credits: Valve

He experienced a period of dry spell after winning his first TI championship title. Though his team showed great potential, they could only secure the Arlington Major trophy. Unfortunately, they couldn’t defend their title at The International 2022, leading to a roster shuffle.

After going through a roster shuffle, Team Spirit had a slow start in the 2023 DPC. Although they dominated their region, they couldn't make deep runs at LANs. However, Miposhka was with the team every step of the way. Finally, at The Riyadh Masters 2023, something clicked for them. They went on to win the tournament, DreamLeague Season 21, and at The International 2023, Miposhka reclaimed his throne.

Following the tournament, rumours of players retiring have been circulating on Telegram. However, the in-game captain of Team Spirit has announced his intentions to continue playing at the highest level, but he plans to take a break for a while.

Hopefully, he can come back even stronger. Throughout Dota 2 history, no team or player has won The International three times. Maybe Miposhka and his team are striving for that achievement, but only time will tell.

Featured Image Source: Valve

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