Vladimir Putin Congratulates Dota 2 Side On TI10 Victory
A jubilant Team Spirit stunned the world in the recent Dota 2 The International 10 championship, taking home a record-breaking $18million prize and the gold medals after being one of the lowest-seeded teams in the event. Having completed the miracle run and winning the biggest prize in esports history, the organisation has been congratulated by none other than the Russian President, Vladimir Putin.
The Moscow-based organisation has received an official letter of congratulations from Putin, in which the President commended their deep-seated lower bracket run, and their initiative and character qualities.
Putin wrote: "Congratulations on your well-deserved victory at The International-2021 - the Dota 2 World Championship. For the first time in history, the Russian team of the Team Spirit club won these prestigious competitions. Well done!"
He continued to outline their abilities, saying: "On the way to the final, you demonstrated outstanding leadership qualities and solidarity, and in the decisive duel, which became a real test of skill and character, you managed to concentrate and seize the initiative from strong opponents at the most crucial moment."
https://twitter.com/JakeSucky/status/1450155822542168069?s=20
Team Spirit's victory against PSG.LGD was just one of many instances in 2021 where teams from the CIS region have taken home global championship trophies.
Recently, Gambit Esports won in two different esports titles with Russian players on the books, becoming victorious in the BLAST Premier: Spring Finals in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) and the Champions Tour: Stage 3 Masters championship in VALORANT - although the prize pools were significantly less.
CS:GO also boasts another championship-winning roster from the region, representing Putin's country in esports, in Natus Vincere. Na'Vi also won the Intel Extreme Masters XVI, and the BLAST Premier: Global Final in 2021, monopolising the esport to the CIS region, and specifically, Russia.
Putin's letter comes as his first notable indication of support to esports. Other world leaders have also begun to recognise the industry as an elite sport, such as the Republic of Korea, who will exempt their athletes from Military Service if they win the world championships in titles such as League of Legends.