Team Spirit Opens Dota 2 Academy in Search of Next Yatoro

Eastern European organization Team Spirit has officially unveiled its new Dota 2 academy team. The organization famously built its TI10-winning roster from a similar project, and is now setting sights on uncovering the next wave of generational talent. 

Team Spirit Expands Academy System

While Team Spirit’s new Dota 2 academy marks the organization’s first official developmental roster in the esport, it’s not exactly uncharted territory. Team Spirit’s manager Dmitry “Korb3n” Belov has experimented with academy-like projects on his own accord, most notably under the famous Yellow Submarine tag, with that lineup famously evolving into the TI10-winning Team Spirit core. 

Now, Team Spirit is making it official by launching a Dota 2 academy to give promising Eastern European players a clear path to grow. These youngsters will be equipped with a coach, manager and analyst to ensure all required resources are provided. 

The first roster includes the following players:

Vladislav “rubikon155” Gaideu

Arsentii “86” Babiuk

Rusline “SunshineRR” Lakhonia

Aidar “Aidar” Nurgalin

Danil “Kyford” Gorbachev

While detailed information is limited, rubikon155 is reportedly 19 years old, and several players on the team are hovering around the top 100 in the European leaderboards.

A Proven Track Record of Top-Tier Talent

Team Spirit has built a strong reputation for uncovering hidden gems. The TI10 championship roster was not a one-off miracle. Since then, the organization continued to find rising stars, including Alan “Satanic” Gallyamov and Aleksandr “rue” Filin in 2023.

The former is now one of the best Dota 2 players in the world, while the latter has been promoted to the main roster, and is still competing under it. 

The talent-spotting instinct extends beyond Dota 2. In Counter-Strike 2, Team Spirit’s academy system discovered Danil “donk” Kryshkovets, who was named the best player in 2024. This year also marked the rise of Maksim “kyousuke” Lukin from Team Spirit Academy, who was then transferred to Team Falcons in a seven-figure deal. 

donk is a prodigious CS2 player. Image Credit: BLAST Open

That being said, Team Spirit’s success in player development isn’t solely to promote talent to their main roster. As discussed earlier, the team is not hesitant to transfer players to other teams. Satanic’s loan to PARIVISION in January 2025 acts as a recent example. 

Team Spirit has always been finding affordable ways to build future stars, rather than buying them outright. With proven success stories like Yatoro and Satanic, the new Dota 2 academy is aiming to continue that tradition. Who knows – maybe one of these five players might be the next Yatoro.