Team Spirit defeat TEAM VISION in five-game thriller to win The International 2026

After two epic weeks, The International 2026 is finally over and we have our new champions. Team Spirit were on another level throughout the competition and deserved the Aegis after an amazing Lower Bracket comeback. As expected, The International 2026 Grand Final had everything we could have asked for.

Most experts and best betting sites put TEAM VISION as the favorite to win after reaching the Final, but this did not happen.

Game 1 was a stomp

Those of you who followed Game 1 will agree that Team Spirit was on a different level. The squad had a much more stable draft after Puppey decided to try the unusual IO mid and Ember Spirit safe lane. Once the laning stage began, it was clear that Team Spirit would dominate, and it happened. Slowly, Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk and his crew gained a lead that was too much to handle and Game 1 went in their favor.

TEAM VISION bounced back in game 2

After the horrendous loss in game 1, TEAM VISION actually bounced back in the second map. It was not easy, as Team Spirit had a good draft once again, but there were a few close fights that went in favor of Volodymyr “No[o]ne-” Minenko and his team.

We saw 64 minutes of back-and-forth action, but Spirit’s Shadow Fiend draft was unable to overcome the Naix and ES combo. TEAM VISION got an important victory and headed straight into game three.

Game 3 – Team Spirit got the lead once again

Game three of the TI15 Grand Finals showed a slightly different draft for both teams. TEAM VISION decided to snatch Shadow Fiend for them, and they did well, but it was not enough to win.

Team Spirit’s extremely annoying Axe and TB combo proved to be too strong, even for Satanic’s SF. There were a few moments where it seemed like TEAM VISION had the lead, but they were short-lived.

Game 4 – The comeback

The fourth match was probably the “closest” one, at least until 33 minutes into the game. TEAM VISION did not allow their opponents to secure the Aegis, which gave them a huge boost. This constant back and forth made it difficult to read from an esports betting perspective.

Spirit relied heavily on their Templar Assassin, but the hero was no match for Satanic’s Lifestealer. TEAM VISION slowly started suffocating their opponents and pushed the match into Game 5.

Game 5 – The final clash

Game five gave us an interesting look at the drafts from both teams. TEAM VISION relied on Juggernaut, a hero that we did not see that much throughout TI, whereas Spirit placed their bet on Lifestealer.

As you’d expect from a Grand Final, the match was very close as neither team wanted to make any mistakes. The two teams were neck and neck throughout the match, but everything changed after the big fight at 57 minutes. Spirit took a big fight that resulted in two lanes of rax.

TEAM VISION tried to hold its ground, but Yatoro’s Naix was just too much to handle. After a very messy fight with tons of buybacks, Team Spirit defeated their opponents and lifted the Aegis for the third time.

Featured image credit: Valve