Yatoro gave a candid assessment of Team Spirit’s preparation

Ilya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk stated that the Team Spirit roster approached the ESL One Birmingham 2026 Dota 2 tournament with a high level of preparation.

The player’s opinion was shared on Telegram.

“We’re in good shape; we’re trying to improve as a team and as individual players. The most important reason why we always like to be in first place is because we have a good system—the Spirit system—and not just the players.”

According to Ilya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk, Team Spirit players are working on their individual skill levels and also striving to develop as a team.

The player also noted that he is excited to compete at ESL One Birmingham 2026 because of the tournament’s LAN format and the presence of fans. The esports player added that he is prepared to accept any result for Team Spirit, but does not want the team to finish in second place.

“Every time we play at a LAN, it’s much more exciting—more emotions, cheering, conversations, and all that. It’s really exciting for me; I always enjoy playing at LANs.

I’m ready to finish in any place except second, because second is really bad—it’s the worst place you can finish in a tournament.”

As a reminder, Nikita “Panto” Balaganin previously acknowledged problems in the match against Nigma Galaxy, despite Team Spirit’s victory.