TI10 Final Day: The Underdogs That Defeated Dota 2 Titans, Team Spirit

It is the day we have been waiting for. A day that Dota 2 fans and players have long anticipated for two years now. Today, we finally witnessed the two best teams in the world fight for the championship title, with one emerging on top after a brutal battle and taking home the lion's share of the $40 Million USD prize pool. PSG.LGD is a titan of Dota 2, the best in the Chinese region and until the Grand Finals, undefeated in TI10. It topped the Group Stage and had a smooth Upper Bracket run. Team Spirit, on the other hand, was living a Cinderella story. The team went through the CIS qualifiers to book a slot in TI10 and barely made it into the Upper Bracket. After IG dropped them to the Lower Bracket, Team Spirit had an incredible Lower Bracket run, defeating powerhouses such as Fnatic, Virtus.Pro, and OG. Today it went to Lower Bracket Finals with a huge mission.

Team Spirit Defeats the Dota 2 Veterans, Team Secret

Team Spirit struggled against Team Secret in its first match of the series. Secret showcased early aggression and Nisha’s Void Spirit was being an absolute nuisance towards the team. Zai executed amazing RP’s to secure many teamfights and Matumbaman finished them off using his Terrorblade.

However, the second game saw Spirit bounce back, as they drafted a Morphling and Dark Willow duo. Despite it looking scary for Spirit at certain points of the game, one crucial fight led them to come on top. Secret couldn’t hold its base and called GG. The final game gave a hard test for Spirit as Secret drafted the infamous Tiny-Lycan combo. But they answered the teamfights with great positioning and discipline, and Yatoro once again claimed a Rampage on TI Main Stage.

Team Spirit crosses the final hurdle to find its happy ending

The opening match saw Spirit exerting its dominance. The whole of the first game was in favor of Spirit, as Yatoro on a Naga Siren led the net worth chart by a far gap. Team Spirit then convincingly closed the first game in 38 minutes.

The second game saw a Morphling Earthshaker combo on LGD and a signature Magnus on Collapse. The early game showed consistency on both sides, but Collapse once again showed his power on the Magnus. A number of beautifully executed Skewers and Horn Tosses ripped the lineup of LGD apart. The opponent waved the white flag to end the game 2-0.

LGD had its back against the wall but they did not let the two setbacks pull them down. In the early phase of Game 3, LGD had a better start but Spirit led the net worth by a small margin. Magnus had been a key pick for a lot of Spirit’s games but in this battle, LGD had a solid answer. XinQ on his Rubick managed to interrupt a lot of Collapse’s move. The game ultimately snowballed to LGD’s favor and Team Spirit called GG at the 48-minute mark pushing it to a Game 4.

The fourth game was smooth-sailing for the Chinese team, as they picked off tons of valuable kills across the map. Collapse’s Axe couldn’t find the right openings and both cores on Spirit were too far behind the net worth chart. The game ended in just 24 minutes with a kill score of 23 - 2 in LGD’s favor to push it to a deciding Game 5.

The final deciding game saw the most popular meta picks on both teams. PSG.LGD opted for the Tiny and Lycan combo while Team Spirit pulled out its Terrorblade and Magnus.

Collapse had a few hiccups on his Magnus with LGD’s Skywrath Mage constantly silencing him when he attempted his signature Horn Toss - Skewer combo. However, with a simple BKB purchase he was back on board. The squad then proceeded to rip apart LGD’s lineup and in a chaotic climax of the game, Team Spirit emerged triumphant and were crowned as the Champions of The International 10.

Best highlights and memes of the day

Another all-star match took place featuring Team Thunderhide and Team Golem.

A big brain moment happened when we got to witness a 5 Aegis draft panel featuring Kurtis "Aui_2000" Ling, Sébastien "Ceb" Debs, and Johan "N0tail" Sundstein.

Roman "Resolut1on" Fomynok might just have the same superpowers as Kyle, and he feared he cursed the Russian underdogs. Though it was later revealed that not every one can cast a curse as consistent as Kyle.

After PSG.LGD's comeback, securing 2 game wins using its key hero, Undying, Team Spirit gave it a respect ban. Team Undying was not happy about that.

Airat "Silent" Gaziev revealed Team Spirit's best strategy, and it is definitely one rare formula.

Illya "Yatoro" Mulyarchuk had a spectacular performance throughout TI10 and he also flexed his massive hero pool.

The International 10 concludes and Team Spirit walks away as the champions of the tournament. Joy has been relished and hearts have been broken. Today, we honored Dota 2 that has brought life-changing moments to the lives of players and fans. We can only anticipate a better and more beautiful story as the game grows.