Korb3n on The International 2026: “I hope it will be better in terms of results for Spirit”

Team Spirit manager Dmitry Korb3n Belov shared his expectations for The International 2026 in Dota 2. He hopes that his team will show better results than the year before.

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I hope that in terms of results it will be better. And in terms of holding it, everything was fine in Hamburg, just like in Copenhagen. In Hamburg, there was more of a problem with some strange format and the fact that the tournament regulations changed during the tournament itself. Regulations are like charters; in theory, it cannot change under any circumstances. Therefore, if there is no such circus, then, on the whole, it will be better than in Hamburg, but hardly better than in Copenhagen. Probably the same. Yes, it doesn’t really matter whether everything is cooler or not cooler. You know, all that is needed is that it is advisable not to have to travel to the clinics, that there is normal food and warm water in the shower. All. Well, and air conditioning if it's hot. And where the hotel is, 3, 4, 5 stars - it doesn’t make much difference, you don’t come there to stay in a hotel.

The International 2026 will take place from August 13 to 23 in Shanghai, China. 16 teams will participate in the tournament, the starting prize fund is set at $1.6 million. In 2025, the Spirit team failed to reach the playoffs, and in 2026 they did not receive a direct invitation and were forced to qualify.