Dota 2’s Team Spirit Withdraws from ESL One Kuala Lumpur Due to Health Concerns
The International 2023 champions, Team Spirit, have decided not to attend the upcoming ESL One Kuala Lumpur tournament in December. Despite receiving a direct invite, the team cited health concerns as the reason for their withdrawal.
Spot in the Tournament Goes to Western European Qualifiers
ESL confirmed Team Spirit’s withdrawal on November 9th. As a result, their spot in the tournament will be added to the Western European qualifiers, as it was deemed the most competitive region according to the organizer’s rankings.
Team Spirit had already expressed doubts about attending the event due to the fact that they were not yet ready to play Dota 2. Winning the Aegis of Champions and having a busy few months leading up to The International, it makes sense for the TI champs to take a break before the start of the 2024 competitive season.
After successful performances in multiple tournaments, including winning the Riyadh Masters 2023 and DreamLeague S21, Team Spirit’s players were looking forward to some time off from Dota 2. However, ESL One Kuala Lumpur posed a challenge in making a decision.
Initially, Team Spirit’s manager Dmitry “Korb3n” Belov mentioned the possibility of participating in the event with substitute players, but the number of stand-ins required was uncertain. Ultimately, the organization chose to sit out of ESL One Kuala Lumpur due to health concerns, which could be related to fatigue and burnout. Despite their victory at TI10, the team has continued to compete actively without taking a break.
Despite winning their second Aegis, none of the four core members of Team Spirit have publicly expressed any opinions regarding retirement.
The open qualifiers for ESL One Kuala Lumpur 2023 begin on November 12th, with the event taking place in Malaysia on December 11th.
Dota 2, Team Spirit, ESL One Kuala Lumpur, health concerns, tournament, Western European qualifiers, The International 2023, Aegis of Champions, burnout, fatigue