Team Spirit Manager Makes a Statement Ahead of The International 2026

Dmitry “Korb3n” Belov hopes that his team will perform better at The International 2026 than they did at the last two events.

The Team Spirit manager’s statement was posted on Telegram.

“I hope the results will be better. As for the organization—everything went smoothly in Hamburg, just like in Copenhagen. In Hamburg, however, there was more of an issue with a strange format and the fact that the tournament rules changed during the event itself. The rules are like a charter; in theory, they shouldn’t change under any circumstances. So, if there isn’t a circus like that, it’ll generally be better than in Hamburg, but probably not better than in Copenhagen. Probably about the same.

But it doesn’t really matter whether it’s cooler or not. You know, all you need is to not have to travel to practice sessions—ideally—and to have decent food and warm water in the shower. That’s it. Oh, and air conditioning if it’s hot. As for the hotel—whether it’s 3, 4, or 5 stars—it doesn’t really matter; you’re not going there to sit in the hotel, after all.”

According to Dmitry “Korb3n” Belov, he was satisfied with the organizational standards at the last two events, but the Team Spirit manager didn’t like that the organizers at The International 2025 changed the rules midway through the tournament. Korb3n considers this approach unacceptable. For TI15, the manager expects the teams’ practice facilities to be located near the hotel and for the level of organization to remain up to par.

As a reminder, Dmitry “Korb3n” Belov previously admitted that the organizers of the Esports World Cup 2026 prohibited participants from publicly criticizing the tournament under threat of penalties.