Team Spirit welcomes a new member to their roster

Team Spirit has made a move to strengthen their Dota 2 roster, as panto is removed and a new position 4 player enters their ranks.

After a strong finish to 2025, 2026 has not been exactly what Team Spirit were looking for. Even though the team is already confirmed for the upcoming Esports World Cup, their highest placement at Tier 1 events has been fourth. With DreamLeague Season 29 set to kick off in just a short while, Spirit has revealed a roster change which they hope will bring them better results in the coming months.

Read more: DreamLeague Season 29 Survival Guide: Teams, format, schedule, prize pool

Rue moves to position 5 – panto out

Spirit’s roster has seen very few changes in recent times, with Yaroslav “Miposhka” Naidenov’s break announced last year and Airat “Silent” Gaziev’s departure as coach early in 2026 being the most prominent. However, this year has also seen the team slip from their peak, with lacklustre results in most events. On May 12th, 2026, the team announced a change, with Nikita “panto” Balaganin, Miposhka’s replacement, departing from the roster.

Citing mismatched expectations, the team had to know their next move already, with DreamLeague Season 29 kicking off on May 13th. A few hours later, they announced their newest member, as Alexey "not me" Kosmynin joined the roster. Having no real experience at Tier 1 events, not me has been seen playing recently alongside Yellow Submarine, as well as HAze Clan in qualifiers.

Following a rigorous two-week trial, he displayed the best synergy with the team.

With the arrival of not me, we will also see Alexandr “rue” Filin switch over to position 5, while the new player slots into the position 4 role.

The full Team Spirit roster is:

• Illya "Yatoro" Mulyarchuk
• Denis "Larl" Sigitov
• Magomed "Collapse" Khalilov
• Alexey "not me" Kosmynin
• Aleksandr "rue" Filin

With DreamLeague Season 29 about to kick off, we will instantly see the new look Spirit in action, as they hope to improve on their recent results. But, with the team already qualified for the EWC 2026, the next few months will be a testing ground as they look to claim another major championship victory.