Team Spirit join TEAM VISION as the only teams to reach a 3-0 record in The International 2026 Group Stage.
The second day of The International (TI) 2026 saw 
Team Spirit claim another convincing victory, taking down 
Team Liquid, 2-1, shortly after their series win against 
Aurora Gaming earlier today (14 August).
The result is an impactful statement for Spirit's TI 2026 campaign considering Liquid's more favourable record. Liquid entered the tournament fresh off a victory at 1win ESSENCE II, the final major tournament before TI 2026. That, plus better and more consistent results this year, painted Liquid as the favourites heading into the matchup. However, Spirit found the winning edge in this close contest. The series even saw 
Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk's Kez tie the all-time record for kills set in a single game at TI at 31, first set by 
Syed Sumail “SumaiL” Hassan back in TI 2018.
With the statement victory, Spirit have climbed to the top of the TI 2026 Group Stage alongside 
TEAM VISION, with both squads remaining unbeaten with a 3-0 record. The team's current record puts them ahead of higher-fancied contenders such as 
Team Yandex, 
Team Falcons, and 
BoomBoys (aka BetBoom Team), making Spirit one of the likely teams to claim a direct Playoff berth.
Spirit’s perfect run so far comes as a pleasant surprise given their inconsistent form throughout the 2025-2026 season. Yet the team have long been known to rise to the occasion on the biggest stages, and with 
Yaroslav “Miposhka” Naidenov back at the helm as coach, their resurgence at TI 2026 feels less surprising by the day.
The loss will certainly have shaken Team Liquid, who are also eyeing their third TI title. Earlier today, the team secured a statement win over Team Yandex, one of the leading contenders for this year’s championship, but were unable to carry that momentum into their 3-0 round matchup against Spirit. With a 2-1 Group Stage record, Liquid still have a chance of securing a direct Playoffs berth, although they cannot afford any further losses.
A look into Spirit and Liquid’s TI 2026 Group Stage run
The Group Stage phase started well for both Team Spirit and Team Liquid. Both teams entered the tournament with high expectations, although the Western European side were considered the stronger favourites given their superior record throughout the season.
On the opening day of the TI 2026 Group Stage, Team Spirit were paired against 
Xtreme Gaming and achieved a dominant victory against the top home-ground representatives. The team played two series today instead of one, and both proved immensely successful. Spirit first swept Aurora Gaming before following it up with an even more significant victory over Team Liquid. They now stand level with TEAM VISION, their regional rivals, at the top of the Group Stage.
Team Liquid, meanwhile, had enjoyed an excellent start to the tournament before running into Spirit. The powerhouse first swept China’s dark horses 
Vici Gaming 2-0 before looking even stronger against tournament favourites Team Yandex, securing a close 2-1 victory.
How Team Spirit defeated Team Liquid at the TI 2026 Group Stage
The battle between the two-time TI champions opened with a record-breaking spectacle–or, more accurately, a record-tying one–as Spirit delivered absolute dominance. The team assembled an aggressive early-game line-up, with Kez for Yatoro, Slardar for Denis “Larl” Sigitov, Underlord for Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov, Windranger for not me, and Bane for Aleksandr “rue” Filin.
Liquid, meanwhile, picked up several meta favourites: Hoodwink for 
Erik “tOfu” Engel, Earth Spirit for 
Michał “Nisha” Jankowski, Centaur Warrunner for 
Marcus “Ace” Hoelgaard, plus their go-to picks Tusk for 
Samuel “Boxi” Svahn and Luna for Micke “miCKe” Vu.
Right from the start, the game swung heavily in Spirit’s favour, with flawless early-game rotations and teamfights earning them valuable kills. This allowed Spirit to snowball quickly, with Yatoro’s Kez picking up an early Desolator and beginning to join fights.
One successful engagement saw Spirit invade deep into Liquid’s safe-lane jungle to catch and quickly eliminate micke. When Liquid brought in reinforcements, it only resulted in Nisha’s death as rue’s Bane committed his Fiend’s Grip.
From there, Spirit continued grouping up around the map and playing around Slardar’s Corrosive Haze and Kez’s deadly Desolator, allowing them to melt through almost any hero in their path. Collapse’s Underlord also provided immense area control, with Aghanim’s Scepter enhancing his Pit of Malice. By 19 minutes, Yatoro had already secured a Beyond Godlike streak.
In one desperate attempt to shut down Yatoro’s Kez, Liquid ambushed him and claimed his first life, but Collapse’s Underlord responded swiftly, using Fiend’s Gate to bring the rest of Spirit into the fight, resulting in a four-man wipe for Liquid.
Liquid are masters of holding the late game and jumping into opportunities to turn the tides. Despite the immense gap in lead, Liquid found brief sparks of hope as Nisha’s Earth Spirit and micke’s Luna began to come online. The team eventually claimed Yatoro’s valuable Beyond Godlike bounty, but it turned out a mere bump in the road for Spirit, who continued to dominate the map.
In the final fight, Yatoro’s Kez swiftly cut through Liquid’s entire line-up to claim a Rampage and finish with a mind-boggling 31/1/9 KDA. The 31 kills also matched SumaiL’s all-time record for most kills in a single TI game, set during his time with EG against OG at TI 2018.
Game two felt like the complete opposite of the opening match. Spirit picked Luna for Yatoro, alongside a teamfight-focused line-up featuring Puck for Larl, Dark Seer for Collapse, Winter Wyvern for Rue, and Rubick for not me.
Liquid, meanwhile, opted for a lane-dominating line-up, with Shadow Fiend for micke, Ember Spirit for Nisha, Tidehunter for Ace, Hoodwink for t0fu, and Tusk once again for Boxi.
From the very start, micke’s Shadow Fiend had an incredibly comfortable game, pressuring Collapse’s Dark Seer out of his lane while raking in easy farm and even taking an uncontested Tier 1 tower. Spirit lacked the rotations needed to shut down the Shadow Fiend, and with overwhelming control in the early game, Liquid were able to snowball.
By 12 minutes, Liquid already held a 12k gold advantage, with micke’s Shadow Fiend soaring above everyone else in the game. Spirit attempted to pick off Ace in their safe-lane area, but Liquid were ready to respond. They turned the engagement in their favour, claiming four kills.
In a plausible play, not me’s Rubick managed to snipe Roshan and claim the Aegis, but it only offered Spirit a brief reprieve before Liquid regrouped and attacked their base just 25 minutes into the game. Despite some spot-on spell executions, Spirit’s damage barely scratched Liquid’s cores. Liquid closed out the game in just 36 minutes to level the series. Micke's Shadow Fiend shone with a 14/1/5 KDA score.
The third map saw another Earth Spirit showcase, this time first-picked by Team Spirit for Larl. The team then picked Nature’s Prophet for Yatoro, Mirana for not me, Tusk for rue, and a flex Death Prophet for Collapse as their final pick.
Liquid, meanwhile, opted for several of their go-to heroes, with micke picking Spectre, followed by Tidehunter for Ace, Witch Doctor for tofu, Lina for Nisha, and Clockwerk for Boxi.
With the series reduced to a decisive best-of-one, both teams played aggressively from the start. However, Spirit gained the upper hand at the 14-minute mark, wiping four of Liquid’s heroes while diving beneath their Tier 2 towers and securing both Wisdom Runes in the process. Their aggression was made even more potent by Yatoro’s ability to join fights from anywhere on the map, allowing Spirit to consistently outnumber their opponents.
It did not take long for Spirit to start tearing through Liquid’s objectives, grouping up to take down a Tier 2 tower at 17 minutes. With the clear disadvantage, Liquid began playing more cautiously and avoided risky engagements. However, this only handed Spirit greater control of the map and access to more farm, allowing them to steadily build their net worth advantage.
After around 15 minutes of both teams circling each other, a major fight finally broke out, with Liquid committing Ravage to burst down Larl’s Earth Spirit. With Liquid having exhausted their abilities, Spirit seized the opportunity to push forward and catch their hesitant opponents. Larl even bought back into the game, helping Spirit secure three kills and an Aegis.
In the late-game showdown, Spirit eventually stormed Liquid’s high ground, showcasing their excellent teamfighting and spell-casting execution. Larl’s Earth Spirit rolled in and out of the fight to disrupt Liquid’s backline and provide vision, while Rue was ever-ready to use Tusk’s Snowball to make clutch saves.
The final moments descended into chaos at the steps of Liquid’s fountain, with Spirit overwhelming their opponents while Yatoro focused on bringing down the throne. The Ancient exploded shortly after, sealing Spirit’s 2-1 series victory.
What is The International 2026?
TI 2026 will be this year's iteration of Dota 2's annual world championship tournament, taking place in August in Shanghai, China. As with previous iterations of the tournament, TI 2026 will feature a total of 16 teams that earn their spots in the tournament by receiving direct invites or earning slots through regional qualifiers.
The list of directly-invited teams to TI 2026 include 
Aurora Gaming, BoomBoys (aka BetBoom Team), 
Team Falcons, 
Team Liquid, 
Iron Wing (aka 1w Team), 
Xtreme Gaming, and 
Team Yandex. Meanwhile, the teams that earned their spots through the regional qualifiers include European qualifier winners 
Team Spirit, TEAM VISION (aka PARIVISION), 
HULIGANI, and 
Nigma Galaxy, North American qualifier winner 
GamerLegion, Southeast Asian qualifier winner 
OG, South American qualifier winner 
LGD Gaming, as well as Chinese qualifier winners 
Vici Gaming and Team Resilience.
TI 2026's main event will be hosted in the Oriental Sports Center in Shanghai. Valve first announced that Shanghai will host TI 2026 during last year's world championship tournament, where Team Falcons claimed the Aegis of Champions after defeating China's Xtreme Gaming in the five-game grand finals.
This will mark the second time that Shanghai will host TI after TI 2019, where Western Europe's OG became the first-ever two-time TI champions after defeating Team Liquid in four games to claim the grand prize of US$15.6 million, out of the US$34.3 million prize pool.
TI 2026 will be split into two phases: the ‘Road to The International’ and ‘The International’ main event. The Road to The International will be a Swiss-style Group Stage from 13 to 16 August, where the 16 teams will be cut down to the final eight that will play in the game's biggest stage from 20 to 23 August in Shanghai's Oriental Sports Center.
While Valve have yet to reveal the details on TI 2026's prize pool, the tournament is expected to follow last year's prize pool format with a US$1.6 million base prize pool. The prize pool will then be boosted through sales of the TI 2026 Compendium.
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