Dota 2’s The International 2023 champions Team Spirit won’t attend the ESL One Kuala Lumpur tournament in December. Despite receiving a direct invite to the event, Spirit decided to skip the event, stating health concerns.
Team Spirit’s withdrawal was confirmed by ESL on Nov. 9. Consequently, the TI champs’ spot in the tournament has been added to the Western European qualifiers as it was the most competitive region according to the organizer’s rankings.
Team Spirit was already skeptical of attending the event as TI champs weren’t ready to play Dota 2 yet. Ending the year on a high note with the Aegis of Champions, Team Spirit also had a busy few months coming into TI so a break before the start of the 2024 competitive season makes sense.
Following the DPC season, the EEU powerhouse won Riyadh Masters 2023 and DreamLeague S21. After winning three tournaments in six months, Team Spirit players were looking forward to taking some time off from Dota 2, but ESL One Kuala Lumpur made it difficult for them to make a decision.
Team Spirit’s manager Dmitry “Korb3n” Belov originally shared with Dota 2 fans the team could participate in the event with substitute players, but he didn’t know how many stand-ins they would need.
Ultimately, the organization decided to sit ESL One Kuala Lumpur out due to health concerns which may revolve around fatigue and stress due to burnout. Though Team Spirit won the biggest prize pool in Dota 2 history at TI10, all members of that squad continued their active careers without a break.
Even after winning their second Aegis, there have yet to be any public opinions coming from the four core members of Team Spirit regarding retirement.
The open qualifiers for ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 start on Nov. 12, and the event will take place in Malaysia on Dec. 11.
