‘Tis the season of roster changes. The post TI roster changes continue, and this time The International 2021 champions part ways with their mid-lanner TORONTOTOKYO. The announcement came from Team Spirit’s official Twitter.
However, with the nature of the post TI season of roster changes and announcements, something was bound to change. Despite TORONTOTOKYO’s release, there seems to be no bad blood between the organization which is always good news to hear.
For some, the announcement of Alexander “Torontotokyo” Khertek’s release came out of nowhere. When Team Spirit won The International 2021, it was one of the greatest underdog stories of Dota 2 history. And the community thought the squad would stay together forever. Especially since prior to The International 2022, Team Spirit won and placed second in the last two Tier 1 tournaments, the Arlington Major and Riyadh Masters. However, no amount of wins come close to The International.
After becoming last year’s champions of The International, the Dota 2 community had high hopes for the squad. However they lost in a best of one to BOOM Esports. Earning them a 13th to 16th placement, which was their lowest placement of the entire 2022 season. And after high expectations and poor placement at the biggest Dota 2 competition in the world, it’s a recipe for roster changes.
Team Spirit’s statement regarding TORONTOTOKYO’s release explained that the decision was not a light one. In addition to group discussions, there were individual consultations with each player on the team and management regarding the roster. Team manager Dmitrii “Korb3n” Belov explained that the decision has been a long time coming, and that he’s sure that they’ll meet again on the Dota 2 main stage.
Although the future for TORONTOTOKYO is unknown as his release is quite recent, he is still one of the most talented mid-lanners in the world. Winning The International is no easy feat, especially with how dominant he was back in 2021. So, don’t be too surprised to see TORONTOTOKYO’s on another squad soon enough.
Stay tuned to Esports.gg to not only keep track of the roster changes, but other Dota 2 content.
