Team Spirit made Dota 2 history by claiming their third Aegis of Champions after taking down TEAM VISION 3-2 in the thrilling The International 2026 grand final in Shanghai, China.
The five-game series at the Oriental Sports Center pushed both teams to their limits, but Spirit held their nerve in the deciding Game 5 to emerge as the first organization to win Dota 2‘s annual crowning event three times.
The TI 2026 victory alsoa dded another chapter to the careers of Spirit mainstays Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk, Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov, and Yaroslav “Miposhka” Naidenov, as well as Denis “Larl” Sigitov, Alexandr “rue” Filin, and Alexey “not_me” Kosmynin.
Yatoro and Collapse became the first three-time TI champion players, achieving the feat across six appearances. Miposhka also claimed his third championship, with two Aegis victories as a player and one as a coach this year.
All our players have some words to say ♥️ pic.twitter.com/Wsmg98lY06
— Team Spirit Dota 2 (@TSpirit_Dota2) August 23, 2026
Larl now has two TI titles under his belt, while rue earned his first Aegis in his second TI appearance. not_me also became a TI champion on his first appearance at the tournament.
More than 500,000 viewers watched the grand final live across Twitch and YouTube, adding to the spectacle of one of the most closely contested TI finals in recent years.
TEAM VISION’s prodigious carry Alan “Satanic” Gallyamov went for a surprise Juggernaut pick in Game 5 and had the opportunity to rewrite the hero’s painful history at the hands of Chinese legend Wang “Ame” Chunyu from last year’s TI. But he ultimately fell short of exorcising the ghost of Ame’s Juggernaut.
Team Spirit emerge victorious in five-game TI 2026 grand final thriller
Game 1: Team Spirit won in 46 minutes and 15 seconds
- Team Spirit hero picks: Shadow Fiend (Yatoro), Slark (Larl), Undying (Collapse), Dark Willow (not_me), Disruptor (rue)
- TEAM VISION hero picks: Ember Spirit (Satanic), Io (No[o]ne-), Axe (Noticed), Hoodwink (9Class), Mirana (Dukalis)
Team Spirit drew first blood in the title showdown with a dominant Game 1 win, with Yatoro on Shadow Fiend punctuating the 46-minute romp with a rampage. The monstrous carry came through with 16 kills on top of seven assists against a single death.
+ RAMPAGE 😎🤟 #TI15 pic.twitter.com/njX8tz82gV
— Team Spirit Dota 2 (@TSpirit_Dota2) August 23, 2026
Game 2: TEAM VISION won in 64 minutes and 29 seconds
- TEAM VISION hero picks: Lifestealer (Satanic), Earth Spirit (No[o]ne-), Underlord (Noticed), 9Class (Rubick), Enchantress (Dukalis)
- Team Spirit hero picks: Shadow Fiend (Yatoro), Slardar (Larl), Undying (Collapse), Hoodwink (not_me), Axe (rue)
Yatoro had his SF once again, but TEAM VISION managed to strike back behind vgeniy “Noticed” Ignatenko’s stellar performance on Underlord. The stable offlaner provided crucial crowd control during team fights as he finished with 14-6-25 kill-death-assist record while Satanic on Lifestealer mowed down the structures.
Game 3: Team Spirit won in 45 minutes and 56 seconds
- Team Spirit hero picks: Terroblade (Yatoro), Nature’s Prophet (Larl), Axe (Collapse), Dark Willow (not_me), Tusk (rue)
- TEAM VISION hero picks: Shadow Fiend (Satanic), Pangolier (No[o]ne-), Slardar (Noticed), Marci (9Class), Enchantress (Dukalis)
It was Satanic’s time to play SF in Game 3 and while the 18-year-old star carry had a strong early game, Yatoro on Terrorblade just proved too much to handle as the game progressed. After getting his Butterfly, Dragon’s Breath, and Satanic, Yatoro manned up during team fights and demolished VISION’s heroes one by one.
Spirit came out on top of a crucial clash in the 38th minute and with Satanic down without a buyback, Yatoro tried to go for a GG push by destroying the tier-4 towers. VISION were able to hold thanks to No[o]ne- on Pango and Noticed on Slardar, but Spirit eventually moved to championship point as Yatoro picked off Noticed after he and No[o]ne- initiated too deep at the backline.
Game 4: TEAM VISION won in 44 minutes and 18 seconds
- TEAM VISION hero picks: Lifestealer (Satanic), Sand King (No[o]ne-), Doom (Noticed), Keeper of the Light (9Class), Mirana (Dukalis)
- Team Spirit hero picks: Yatoro (Templar Assassin), Storm Spirit (Larl), Centaur Warrunner (Collapse), Clockwerk (not_me), Winter Wyvern (rue)
Staring at the potential of having their TI title hopes vanquished, VISION remained cool and composed as Noticed once again delivered with his Doom, keeping his perfect record on the hero in five games at TI 2026.
Noticed caught the perfect targets with the Doom ultimate during pivotal team fights, focusing on Collapse’s Centaur to prevent him from saving Yatoro’s Templar Assassin with Work Horse. With Volodymyr “No[o]ne-” Minenko on Sand King, Edgar “9Class” Naltakian on KOTL, and Andrey “Dukalis” Kuropatkin on Mirana providing additional controls alongside Noticed, Satanic on Lifestealer was able to inflict the damage as VISION took the surgical win to forge the two best words in competitive Dota 2: Game Five.
Game 5: Team Spirit won in 64 minutes and 22 seconds
- Team Spirit hero picks: Lifestealer (Yatoro), Pangolier (Larl), Dark Seer (Collapse), Mirana (not_me), Bane (rue)
- TEAM VISION hero picks: Juggernaut (Satanic), Invoker (No[o]ne-), Axe (Noticed), Rubick (9Class), Hoodwink (Dukalis)
Game 5 featured a surprise pick from Satanic, who brought out Juggernaut for the decisive match. It brought back memories of Ame’s Juggernaut, whose heartbreaking TI defeat with the hero the previous year against Team Falcons had become one of the tournament’s memorable moments.
VISION made the stronger start, with Dukalis’ Hoodwink creating plays across the map. However, a 29th-minute pickoff on Satanic allowed Spirit to secure Roshan and give Yatoro an Aegis advantage on Lifestealer.
Spirit then found another key opening in the 38th minute. Collapse used Lotus Orb on Larl’s Pangolier to reflect Juggernaut’s Omnislash, while rue’s Bane locked down Satanic with Fiend’s Grip. Spirit used the opening to clean up multiple VISION players.
WHAT A LOTUS FROM COLLAPSE!!! 😱 pic.twitter.com/rOKz155NTf
— Team Spirit Dota 2 (@TSpirit_Dota2) August 23, 2026
The game remained extremely close. VISION picked off Yatoro in the 49th minute after a perfect chain stun, with Satanic cutting down the Lifestealer. Five minutes later, VISION won another crucial fight after 9Class used a stolen Fiend’s Grip to hold Yatoro.
Spirit eventually found the breakthrough in the 58th minute, picking off both Satanic and Noticed. VISION lost its middle set of rax and the ranged rax, leaving its base increasingly exposed.
The winning clash came in the 64th minute. Spirit managed to keep Yatoro alive thanks to rue’s Nightmare save when he was on the brink of death. The carry immediately turned the fight around, and Spirit took down Satanic twice in the final engagement. With multiple heroes down having no buybacks, VISION was forced to call GG as Spirit sealed their third Aegis.
TEAM VISION fell short of winning TI anew after placing coming close last year with a third-place finish. Veteran mid laner No[o]ne- remained on the hunt for his first Aegis since entering the Dota 2 pro scene in 2014.
Dota 2 TI 2026 final standings and prize pool distribution
| Place | Team | Prize Money | Prize Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Champion | Team Spirit | $1,416,786 | 42.5% |
| 2nd | TEAM VISION | $433,431 | 13% |
| 3rd | Team Yandex | $299,984 | 9% |
| 4th | BoomBoys | $200,034 | 6% |
| 5th-6th | Team Liquid Nigma Galaxy |
$166,673 | 5% |
| 7th-8th | Iron Wing Team Falcons |
$133,790 | 4% |
| 9th-13th | Vici Gaming Aurora Gaming Team Resilience GamerLegion LGD Gaming |
$60,158 | 1.8% |
| 14th-15th | Xtreme Gaming OG |
$33,481 | 1% |
| 16th | HULIGANI | $16,741 | 0.5% |
