Team Spirit carry player Ilya "Raddan" Mulyarchuk (Yatoro) criticized the current meta in Dota 2. He doesn't like that esports players have to play as semi-cores. The video with Mulyarchuk was released during the Riyadh Masters 2024.
"The current meta is semi-cores. I hope we win the tournament, and I'll say from the stage that the current meta is for scoundrels. It's a very bad and crappy meta for carries, but you have to play," said Ilya "Raddan" Mulyarchuk.
"The problem is that when you play a semi-core, you have less gold, and it's harder to play as a carry. You're no longer like a killer, but a guy who runs around and deals hits while the team kills," explained Mulyarchuk.
"Chaos Knight, Windranger, Weaver, Troll Warlord, Ursa, and sometimes Alchemist. The only hard carries are Terrorblade and Morphling. They are strong and competitive compared to other carries," listed Mulyarchuk.
"Now they even started picking the Time Zone aspect for Faceless Void. It allows him to join fights earlier, be more aggressive, and mobile, and buff his team. [He's also like a semi-core] Well, yeah, crap," added Mulyarchuk.
Earlier, commentator and host Daria "Eiritel" Morozova said that the meta at the Riyadh tournament "does not forgive mistakes."
Team Spirit finished 7th-8th at the Riyadh Masters 2024 and earned $200,000 in prize money. They couldn't defend their title in Saudi Arabia. In 2023, Team Spirit became the Riyadh Masters champion.