Xtreme Gaming knocks Team Spirit out of The International 2024

The seeding deciders for The International 2024 brought an upset that fans did not anticipate. Nouns took down Team Spirit in a shocking twist. As a result, one of the tournament favourites and the reigning TI champions, Team Spirit, found themselves starting their TI journey in the lower bracket.

Team Spirit with their second TI rings. (Credits: Valve)

Despite winning their first series of the day against G2.iG, Team Spirit's lower bracket run came to an abrupt end when their resilient rivals, Xtreme Gaming, delivered the final blow. With Spirit’s exit, only one team from Eastern Europe remains in the competition, while Xtreme Gaming remains as the only representative from China.

Xinq: "Team Spirit's form is not top shape"

The match between Team Spirit and Xtreme Gaming was one of the most anticipated series of the tournament. The rivalry between the players on these two teams had always been intense dating back to The International 2021. In their previous encounters, the results have gone either team’s way.

Xinq, that's what happen when you wash your face before the series against Team Spirit. (Credits: Valve)

While the first game was close, Xtreme Gaming dominated the second and third games against Team Spirit. Both matches ended before the thirty-minute mark, with Xtreme taking a decisive victory. After the series, Zhao "XinQ" Zixing reflected on the win and shared his thoughts on his rivals' performance.

"Beating them means we made it to top eight so that's great. In terms of beating Spirit, it doesn't feel much because we feel like their form is not top shape. We have a plan, that's why we work towards the results and it worked out."

In previous iterations of The International, teams from various regions often made deep runs. However, this doesn't seem to be the case at The International 2024, with Western European teams taking all the spots in the upper bracket. The South American region has already bid farewell to the tournament, and only one team remains from Eastern Europe, Southeast Asia, and China. The chances of these teams advancing further appear slim. In his post-game interview, Xinq also talks about being the hopes of a region.

" Well I don't know. I'm trying not to say too much. It's definitely pressured so calm down and we'll see."

Misposhka: "Xtreme is a strong team"

Although Team Spirit was among the favourites to win The International 2024 along with Xtreme Gaming, they struggled with performance issues throughout the season. In some tournaments, they were among the early exits. However, as the season progressed, they secured some strong finishes too. This includes their victory at PGL Wallachia Season 1 and 1win Series Dota 2 Summer, where they claimed the trophy.

Unfortunately, they followed that up with a disappointing result at The Riyadh Masters 2024. Despite these inconsistencies, they were still considered favourites because they were the defending champions.

Team Spirit lifting the trophy at PGL Wallachia Season 1. (Credits: PGL)

Team Spirit’s performance struggles finally caught up with them at The International 2024, ultimately costing them their title. After their elimination, Yaroslav "Miposhka" Naidenov, the in-game leader of Team Spirit reflected on the team’s shaky performance throughout the tournament.

"What went wrong? I dunno– I think we just did some mistakes at the draft stage. Some games, for example, against nouns– we were focused on wrong heroes. What we shouldn't play at all and I think this made us a little bit disappointed. So we went to loser bracket because of this lose. I think here's a lot of strong teams, and Xtreme is also a strong team. It's hard to say that we must win them. In that series, they were stronger."

Misphoshka reflects on the meta

Meta changes play a pivotal role in Dota 2, especially at high-caliber tournaments like The International. To remain a top team, swift adaptation to the evolving meta is crucial. However, Team Spirit is known for doing things their own way.

Miposhka at The International 2024. (Credits: Valve)

While this creative approach has led to tremendous success in the past,  some believed it could also contribute to their downfall. In his exit interview, Miposhka, reflected on this aspect of their performance.

" At Riyadh, for example, there was a meta to what we didn't adapt well enough. But on that tournament, I think we had a lot of good ideas. We played a lot of old meta heroes. We just did some mistakes at the draft stage and didn't find the right ideas, and that's it. I think the meta on this TI was good enough to win for us."

With their defeat Team Spirit's journey at The International 2024 has come to an end. However, there’s a silver lining for Spirit fans. After winning The International 2021, Team Spirit had a disappointing exit in the following TI, only to reclaim their throne at The International 2023. Now, with another early exit in 2024, perhaps The International 2025 will be Spirit’s year once again. As for Xtreme Gaming, they will be going up against Aurora in their upcoming lower bracket series. Be sure to visit our website, Strafe, for the latest coverage of all the action at The International 2024.

Featured Image Source: Valve

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