While two key events in DreamLeague Season 29 and BLAST Slam VII are fast approaching, Team Spirit have made a surprising announcement, with Nikita “panto” Balaganin departing the active roster and Alexey “not me” Kosmynin officially joining.
Spirit Roster Changes Ahead of Two Key Events
In a surprising move announced on 12 May, Team Spirit have confirmed that Panto is out of the active roster, with not me officially joining after a two week trial. The move shakes up the Spirit roster just a day before DreamLeague, as alongside a new signing there has also been a position swap, with Aleksandr “rue” Filin moving to Position 5.
These changes come after a poor start to the year for Spirit, which saw them bomb out early in the majority of events they’ve played so far, with just one good showing at FISSURE Universe: Episode 8 in January. With that said, the team has faced some roster issues, fielding stand-ins in multiple events.
However, Spirit clearly felt the need to shake things up. The question is if this will be enough to turn things around for the struggling squad.
not me joins Team Spirit
Aleksei Kosmynin is the new position 4 support of our Dota 2 roster. Following a rigorous two-week trial, he displayed the best synergy with the team.
Besides, the signing of not me will alter the distribution of roles: from now on Aleksandr “rue”… pic.twitter.com/fl11N6KzWm
— Team Spirit Dota 2 (@TSpirit_Dota2) May 12, 2026
Who is not me Dota 2?
If you’re a fan of Dota but asking yourself “who is not me?”, you’re not alone. Not me is a relatively new name in the scene, having only stepped into the pro level in 2024 with One Move, a Russian team that plays in Tier 2, and having bounced around their main roster and the bench since then. Even there, his team didn’t achieve too much, with some solid results in Tier 2 events, but rarely even playing matches against teams that can be considered Tier 1.
However, Spirit have clearly seen something in him that makes them think he can make the jump up to elite play. It’ll be interesting to see what he can achieve, with his first ever Tier 1 match coming at DreamLeague Season 29 on May 13 against Vici Gaming.
Team Spirit are now:
Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk (1)
Denis “Larl” Sigitov (2)
Magomed “Collapse” Khalilov (3)
Alexey “not me” Kosmynin (4)
Aleksandr “rue” Filin (5)
