One of the most painful things to experience at The International is to see your favorite team knocked out early. This is especially true when they happened to be the defending champions. Even though they had so many expectations, Team Spirit were not able to get far at TI11. They were eliminated by BOOM Esports in the first round of the lower bracket playoffs and finished 13th-16th.
Defending TI champion, Team Spirit, eliminated in Round 1 of TI11 playoffs
A huge upset on the first day of TI11 main stage as the defending champions bow out early. BOOM live to fight another day.
Team Spirit players’ performance affected by the Russian-Ukrainian war
The first day of TI11 main stage ended with a melancholic interview of Team Spirit pos4 player Miroslaw “Mira” Kolpakov. Kaci “Kaci” Aitchison asked Mira what has changed within the team knowing how strong they were throughout the year. His response was as follows.
Mira: “This year was definitely different compared to last year. A lot of things happened to us. We had to move from our countries because of the Russian-Ukrainian war. So it affects me and Yatoro the most I think. But we somehow managed to get through this and to live with it. But in this tournament I think we disappointed our fans. We disappointed ourselves.”
We had to move from our countries because of the Russian-Ukrainian war. So It affects me and Yatoro the most I think. But we somehow managed to get through this and to live with it.
Mira talked about his struggles
“I think we’re going to manage to go through this situation” — Mira remains hopeful
Mira: “I think personally if I can speak for me I just lost my confidence on this tournament. I wasn’t sure if I can do it. I wasn’t sure if I’m good enough. And it was really hard to play with this mindset. Just bad times, bad times.”
Kaci then expressed her empathy to Mira and asked a follow-up question on whether the rest of Team Spirit shared the same feelings as Mira.
Mira: “I think it was about me personally. Hard times in life maybe. I think we’re going to manage to go through this situation. And I hope we will play together next year and show what we can do because this was 10 percent of our power. It’s just hard times for all of us I think.”
The merciless best-of-one elimination games have concluded. Hokori, Fnatic and RNG were the teams eliminated along with Team Spirit. Only 16 teams remain vying for the Aegis of Champions. Follow all TI11 match results and latest news on esports.gg.
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