After their triumph at The International, Dota 2 winning Russian club Team Spirit just received a message from President Putin himself!
President Vladimir Putin congratulated Team Spirit following their recent victory in the Dota 2 world championship 2021.
It seems like esports is now getting much-needed recognition. And this is positive progress for the gaming industry and the gamers themselves moving forward.
Team Spirits creates history in ‘Dota 2’ world championship
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2piNuZ7GXXM
Russian esports club Team Spirit won The International Dota 2 tournament, defeating China’s PSG.LGD. With that, it also became the first Eastern European team to claim the title in ten years!
After the victory, Team Spirit also received massive prize money amounting to over $18 million. It is also the biggest winning amount in the history of esports tournaments.
Following so many achievements, the champion team eventually received an official congratulatory letter from the Russian President himself.
Mr. Vladimir Putin wrote this message (translated from Russian) on the Kremlin.ru. website:
“Congratulations on your well-deserved victory at The International-2021—the Dota 2 World Championship.”
Mr. President praised Team Spirit’s leadership quality and solidarity that it showed through the finals. And he emphasized the fact that the country’s eSportsmen are capable of conquering any peaks, no matter what.
Such inspiring words mean a lot for Team Spirit and also for the esports gaming arena itself. It is proof that video gaming has become quite mainstream now. It’s not just part of someone’s hobby and part-time activities anymore!
Gaming is a profession now, in itself, thanks to the slow yet constantly growing recognition across the globe.
Know the Champions
Team Spirit is a Russian esports organization based in Moscow, founded in 2015. At the moment, it consists of various teams participating in different gaming competitions. Some of them include titles like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, Hearthstone, and Dota 2.
About The International Esports tournament
The International is an annual esports world championship gaming tournament for the title Dota 2. It’s hosted and also produced by the game’s developer, Valve.
Initially, the tournament took place as a promotional event a decade ago, during the Gamescom 2011. Since then, it has been organized consistently, except last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The International has nearly 18 teams, where 12 of them come from the results of Dota Pro Circuit. On the other hand, the rest of the clubs are selected after they win the regional playoffs from different nations.
Crowdfunding has helped in collecting the prize money via a battle pass system within the Dota game itself since 2013. The makers then use a quarter of the total revenue in funding the complete tournament.
Image courtesy of Vox/YouTube