The Ukrainian Esports Federation (UESF) has reportedly imposed a ban on Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk and Myroslav “Mira” Kolpakov, two of Team Spirit’s The International 10 (TI10) champions. The ban comes as a result of the players’ association with Russian players within the same team.

This move implies that Yatoro and Mira will no longer be eligible to participate in any UESF-organized tournaments. Moreover, they will be restricted from traveling abroad for tournaments if they return to Ukraine.

Source: Valve

Team Spirit, currently based in Belgrade, Serbia, is a melting pot of players from both Ukraine and Russia. Yatoro and Mira hail from Ukraine, while the other three members are from Russia. Amidst the ongoing conflict between Ukraine and Russia, Team Spirit made a decision in March 2022 to relocate its operations from Moscow to Belgrade.

Yatoro and Mira can no longer represent Ukraine

This means that if Yatoro and Mira decide to return to Ukraine, they will face significant challenges in leaving the country again due to this ban. Additionally, they are now barred from representing Ukraine in esports.

Despite the ban, Yatoro and Mira have been performing exceptionally well with Team Spirit. They recently clinched the title at the Riyadh Masters 2023, the event with the largest prize pool so far this year. The team defeated Team Liquid 3-1 in the grand final, bagging a whopping $5,000,000 USD in prize money.

Currently, Team Spirit is on a break, having already qualified for The International 12 (TI12) based on Dota Pro Circuit (DPC) points. Unless a major third-party tournament is organized, Spirit will be seen next at TI12 in October 2023.

At this stage, the ban is simply a statement and cannot really be enforced in any way, nor does it impact the ability of Team Spirit to compete. It will however impact the players psychologically at the very least by vilifying their sportsmanship and comradery.

Additional information: The ban on Yatoro and Mira is not an isolated incident. Ukrainian esports players Igor “w0nderful” Zhdanov and Myroslav “zont1x” Plakhotja were also reportedly banned for playing on the same team as Russian players. The UESF has yet to comment on whether other esports players teaming up with Russians will face similar bans.

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