Team Spirit’s Yatoro unveiled a newly shaved head just before the Grand Finals of TI12, in an attempt to replicate the bald buff of TI10.
Illya "Yatoro" Mulyarchuk, the carry of Team Spirit, has shaved his head ahead of the The International 2023 Grand Final in an attempt to recapture his team’s success at TI10. At that tournament, Yatoro shaved his head before the finals after having a full head of hair. Now Yatoro has broken out the bald buff once again to secure the victory.
Just days ago Yatoro was sporting a shoulder length blonde haircut, with bright orange highlights at the end of his ponytail. The anime-like haircut had clearly given Yatoro protagonist-level abilities, as Team Spirit has swept through the upper bracket to secure their spot in the Grand Finals at TI12.
At TI10, Team Spirit braved the lower bracket, defeating all comers to make it to the finals, and beat PSG.LGD to claim the matchup. Team Spirit were underdogs in that tournament, and didn’t even have toilet paper in their room or space for computers when they started the event. Despite the hardship, or perhaps because of it, and Yatoro’s bald buff, the team were victorious.
However, Team Spirit have struggled since TI10, only returning to their winning ways in the past few months.
Now, the team are pulling out all stops, as Yatoro debuted his newly shaved head during the player introductions ahead of the Grand Final matchup against Gaimin Gladiators. The “Bald Buff” hasn’t worked for all players, and in some cases has led to almost immediate defeat for those who tried to replicate Yatoro’s success. Hopefully or bald buff originator will manage to harness its power one more time to secure a win at TI12.
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