Cover-Credits:
Team Spirit, The International 10 (TI10) champions, is reportedly moving to Serbia temporarily. According to a report by the Russian media portal cybersport.ru. Team Spirit's Brand Director Konstantin Machaidze stated that the team will temporarily relocate to Serbia, but there are no plans to change the citizenship of its players, as had been rumored. At this point in time, Machaidze said it was easier to get a visa to Serbia than to Ukraine or Russia. The change in Team Spirit’s bootcamp location occurs in the midst of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Team Spirit players to temporarily relocate to Serbia
Although Team Spirit is moving to Serbia temporarily, Machaidze told cybersport.ru that the team was not thinking about changing their citizenship or releasing themselves from their associations with Russia, Ukraine, or the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS). The reason behind this move is to simplify logistics and solve ping problems.
Team Spirit consists of five players with three belonging to Russia - Alexander "TORONTOTOKYO" Khertek, Yaroslav "Miposhka" Naidenov, and Magomed "Collapse" Khalilov. The remaining two players are from Ukraine - Miroslaw "Mira" Kolpakov and Illya "Yatoro" Mulyarchuk.
The impact of Russia’s invasion has been felt by various esports organizations, teams, and players over the past few weeks. Team Spirit also participated in the Gamers Galaxy: Dota 2 Invitational Series Dubai 2022 without Mira, who was in Ukraine but receiving the necessary support. During the event, Team Spirit members wore white shirts with the word "Peace" imprinted on them to show their support for Ukraine.
The Eastern Europe (EEU) Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) 2021-22 Tour 2 has also been suspended indefinitely by Valve. In a blog post on its website, Valve wrote, “we do not see a way that the Eastern European DPC league can happen as envisioned for the foreseeable future, and it was with much regret that we recently had to postpone the Spring Tour in one of the community's most vibrant and storied regions.” In addition, Valve stated that some players had requested the league to proceed as planned, but in the current situation, it did not think it was possible.
EEU DPC's tournament organizer, Epic Esports Events, also relinquished their rights to host the league, Valve said in the blog post.
Valve will announce new dates for the EEU DPC after discussing options with all teams and organizations in the region.
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