Team Spirit vs Virtus.pro Dota 2 The International 2023 Upper Bracket Quarterfinals highlights

In Dota 2 The International 2023 group stage, we saw four teams getting eliminated. Additionally, the remaining 16 teams were sorted into the Upper and Lower Brackets. The first Upper Bracket Quarterfinals saw the TI10 champions, Team Spirit, lock horns with Virtus.pro.

Team Spirit won the series against Virtus.pro and continued their undefeated streak. They lost one game in the Bo3 series but went on to overwhelm Virtus.pro in the final game. In the third game, Team Spirit, spearheaded by Yatoro's Sven, reached the Upper Bracket Semifinals by sending Virtus.pro to the Lower Bracket Round 2.

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Team Spirit lost the first game but went on to win the next two games in Dota 2 Upper Bracket Quarterfinals

Game 1 between Team Spirit and Virtus.pro

The first Dota 2 game in the Bo3 Upper Bracket Quarterfinals lasted for 33 minutes. The picks of Team Spirit and Virtus.pro were as follows:

Team Spirit (Dire):

• Faceless Void - Yatoro
• Viper - Larl
• Spirit Breaker - Collapse
• Hoodwink - Mira
• Ancient Apparition - Miposhka

Virtus.pro (Radiant):

• Spectre - Kiritych
• Lina - squad1x
• Bristleback - Noticed
• Pugna - sayuw
• Grimstroke - Fng

Both the teams were equal in terms of kills and gold score, however, at the 11th-minute mark, VP got a good lead as Spectre joined the teamfight, eliminating the Viper and Hoodwink. From this moment, Virtus.pro kept rolling over Team Spirit, countering all their spells and getting kills in return.

Virtus.pro went on to secure an early Aegis on the Spectre and further increased their chances of winning the game. They then engaged in a series of team fights and dismantled the TI10 champions. Even Faceless Void couldn't turn the tide as Virtus.pro was hitting the Dire Ancient in 33 minutes and won the first game.

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Game 2 between Team Spirit and Virtus.pro

The second Dota 2 Upper Bracket Quarterfinals was of a different scenario, as Team Spirit went on to dominate Virtus.pro with their fighting-based lineup. The lineups of Team Spirit and Virtus.pro in the second game were as follows:

Team Spirit (Radiant):

• Muerta - Yatoro
• Puck - Larl
• Dawnbreaker - Collapse
• Grimstroke - Mira
• Tusk - Miposhka

Virtus.pro (Dire):

• Chaos Knight - Kiritych
• Templar Assassin - squad1x
• Centaur Warrunner - Noticed
• Invoker - Sayuw
• Phoenix - Fng

Team Spirit started to win team fights from the early game as Muerta was involved in them instead of farming the jungle. This forced the Chaos Knight to join his team as well, but due to lack of damage, Dire couldn't secure any significant kills.

Additionally, Team Spirit got an early Aegis and engaged in the team fight near Radiant's Roshan Pit. Yatoro (who had the Aegis) was chain stunned, but he managed to push himself to a safe spot with his Force Staff and started attacking Phoenix's egg. He managed to destroy the egg but lost his first life. After he respawned, Yatoro went full Rambo on the enemy team and got an ultra kill.

After this, Team Spirit charged towards the bottom Tier 3 tower but got team wiped due to the combined efforts of TA, Centaur, and Invoker (bought back). The game was turning around for VP, but Yatoro's Muerta got a massive triple kill in the midlane and went on to claim mega creeps and eventually a win.

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Game 3 between Team Spirit and Virtus.pro

On paper, Virtus.pro's draft appeared much stronger than Team Spirit's lineup. However, Team Spirit's resilience and focus on keeping their carry alive helped them secure a place in the Dota 2 Upper Bracket Semifinals.

Team Spirit:

• Sven: Yatoro
• Invoker: Larl
• Tidehunter: Collapse
• Dark Willow: Mira
• Treant Protector: Miposhka

Virtus.pro:

• Spectre: Kiritych
• Keeper of the Light: squad1x
• Wraith King: Noticed
• Muerta: Sayuw
• Grimstroke: Fng

Virtus.pro made some minor mistakes in this Dota 2 game that ultimately led to their relegation to the Lower Bracket. Both Wraith King and Spectre had Radiance, which resulted in the offlaner and safelaner farming for most of the game. The team fights VP engaged in weren't that effective, as Team Spirit simply kited them.

In contrast, Sven became incredibly powerful with items such as Satanic, Silver Edge, Blink Dagger, and BKB. With Tidehunter's Ravage and Invoker's Cataclysm, Virtus.pro found it challenging to stand against Team Spirit, even with Wraith King's Scepter.

Virtus.pro will face Tundra Esports/Entity in Dota 2 Lower Bracket Round 2 in a Bo3 series. The losing team of this matchup will be eliminated from Dota 2 The International 2023.