“They need to beg Miposhka and Silent to come back”, — the community’s reaction to Team Spirit’s failure at BLAST SLAM VII

Team Spirit’s disappointing performance at BLAST SLAM VII has sparked lively discussions within the Dota community about the team’s future. The squad failed to qualify for the main stage of the tournament, and fans are questioning the roster’s competitiveness heading into the year’s upcoming major tournaments.

As a reminder, on May 12, Alexey not me Kosmyinin joined the team, replacing Nikita Panto Balaganin. After a successful debut at DreamLeague Season 29, where the team finished in the top 3, the new player has received positive feedback. In particular, Mikhail Misha Agatov stated that Team Spirit, with its updated roster, will win TI:

“Spirit will win The International 2026. I’m the first to say it. Finally, Larl, Yatoro, and Collapse (the three best players on planet Earth in all of history since the time of the dinosaurs) have tier-1 supports.”

However, at the subsequent BLAST SLAM VII, the team’s performance noticeably deteriorated. Team Spirit lost to most of the teams in the group stage, and in the last-chance round, they were eliminated from the championship after losing to Team Yandex.

Nevertheless, the individual performances of both the rookie not me and the veterans on the roster were highly praised. Among others, Avery SVG Silverman and Jean Gorgc Stefanovski shared their opinions.

Gorgc’s comment: “Yatoro, man, he’s everywhere. He’s in great form right now. I’d say that’s the difference between Yatoro and Satanic. In my opinion, they’re the two best carry players right now. Yatoro will do things that Satanic won't. But Satanic will do certain things that Yatoro won't. But those plays… Yatoro dives into mid and gets three kills. That’s not easy. He’s so good.”

SVG’s comment: “It’s been a while since I’ve seen a player like that (not me) — maybe just Save- or someone like that. After watching his games, I can say that he played smart on the lane, making the right plays at the right time in the right place. Obviously, mechanically he’s strong in late-game team fights and so on; he could make some great saves. To prove himself so quickly in such a high-pressure situation — that’s pretty impressive.”

Alexander Nix Levin pointed out the team’s weak spot. Although he agrees that the players’ individual performances are good, as are their drafts, in his opinion, Spirit lacks an authoritative captain in the support role — like Miposhka — to make team decisions and calls in the early stages of the game.

“They just don’t play Dota well as a team. They have enough individual skill. They’re just not a team; they don’t have a captain. Even a bad captain is better than none at all.

Yatoro is also a strong player who can make calls, but he can’t do everything. When you’re playing on the core, you absolutely need help. He’ll carry them through the late game, but in the early stages, the supports need to lead the game. Rue isn’t a captain — he doesn’t talk; he’s a quiet type.

They need to beg Miposhka to come back. After that, Korb3n needs to apologize to Silent. Otherwise, they’re done for; they won’t even make it through the TI qualifiers. Spirit’s ambition isn’t just to qualify for The International, but to win The International. Korb3n isn’t a fool; he sees all this nonsense, he understands that they’re doomed if they don’t do something drastic.”

Soon after, the team’s manager, Dmitry Korb3n Belov, shared his thoughts on the possibility of Miposhka and Silent returning to the roster:

“Silent is on the inactive list, where we sent him. I’d be happy if he were working right now — but will that happen? No.

As for Miposhka — that’s just absurd. It’s not the idea that’s absurd, but the notion that Yaroslav would return as a player two weeks before the qualifiers after not playing Dota for nearly a year <...> As for the take that he was in better form at Streamers Battle than most of the Dota scene — I disagree, sorry.

<...> I wouldn’t replace anyone from this roster at all. These are my guys, I’m with them. If they go down, I go down with them.”

As a reminder, Team Spirit received a direct invite to the Esports World Cup 2026 as the title defender of the previous tournament in the series, but the team did not earn an invite to The International 2026.

To get to TI, Spirit will have to fight its way through the qualifiers. Although four spots for the championship are up for grabs in the European qualifiers, there are also plenty of competitors who could take a slot away from Team Spirit if it isn’t in top form. In addition to PARIVISION, MOUZ, Natus Vincere, Nigma Galaxy, and several other teams invited to the closed qualifiers, eight more teams from the open qualifiers will compete for a spot at The International 2026.

As CyberScore previously reported, all teams that will receive a direct invite to Esports World Cup 2026 have been announced.