Dota 2Esports

Team Spirit vs Gaimin Gladiators: TI 2023 final

The Team Spirit vs Gaimin Gladiators TI 2023 final ended 3–0 in Seattle on October 29. Spirit completed an unbeaten upper-bracket run and became the second.

Team Spirit and Gaimin Gladiators playing the International 2023 final
Team Spirit swept Gaimin Gladiators 3–0 to claim its second Aegis.

The Team Spirit vs Gaimin Gladiators TI 2023 final ended 3–0 in Seattle on October 29. Spirit completed an unbeaten upper-bracket run and became the second organization to win The International twice.

Road to the final

Team Spirit entered the playoffs from the group stage’s first phase, then beat Shopify Rebellion, Team Liquid and Team Liquid again in the upper final. Gaimin Gladiators fell to Talon Esports in the upper bracket but survived a long lower run, defeating Evil Geniuses, 9Pandas, nouns, Team Liquid and Azure Ray.

Team Spirit vs Gaimin Gladiators TI 2023 final: map-by-map recap

Spirit won the opener through controlled scaling and reliable late-fight execution. Gaimin’s attempts to raise the pace in games two and three created windows, but Spirit kept finding the cleaner target order and buyback decisions. The third game ended the best-of-five without requiring a change in overall match control.

The decisive pattern

Spirit denied the lane-to-objective rhythm that had powered Gaimin through the season. Miposhka and Mira supplied vision and initiation, while Collapse and Larl created safe space for Yatoro’s carry decisions. Gaimin reached the final through relentless play, but fatigue and a narrow turnaround window met an opponent that rarely offered isolated kills.

Why the result still matters

Team Spirit added the 2023 Aegis to its 2021 championship with the same five-player core. The sweep also stopped Gaimin from converting a year of major tournament victories into TI. Spirit’s route remains a model of bracket control: no lower-bracket recovery was required at any stage.

Dates, scores, placements and prize information were checked against published tournament records. Tactical conclusions describe the recorded games and are not presented as quotations from players or coaches.

Sources: primary release notes or official records. Factual claims were checked against these records; interpretation is our own.

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Editorial note

Facts and mechanics were checked against the linked primary sources before publication.

This article was reviewed on August 11, 2026.

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Dmitri reviews games by tracing their complete loop: how a system is introduced, how it changes under pressure and whether it still produces interesting decisions after the novelty fades. He has a particular interest in RPG economies, tactical combat and performance problems that alter mechanical feel. Every verdict is written for a specific player rather than an imaginary universal audience.

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