Yatoto is playing at a CS2 major, here’s why

Team Spirit Dota 2’s star carry Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk will go from farming creeps to hitting peeks at the CS2 Shanghai Major.

The Shanghai Major has been a roaring success, and it will all come to a close in the unexpected grand final between Team Spirit and FaZe Clan. However, before either Finn “karrigan” Andersen or Leonid “chopper” Vishnyakov can lift the trophy, the all-star game must commence. The fan-favorite event returns with two star-studded lineups, and one name in particular is bringing the Dota 2 and Counter-Strike communities together.

Yatoro is playing in the all-star match at the CS2 Shanghai Major, and he won’t be the only special guest in the server.

Yatoto guest stars at the CS2 Shanghai Major all-star game

Dota 2 icon and double International champion Yatoro will be playing in the all-star game at the CS2 Shanghai Major.

He was one of the final players revealed less than a day before the all-star match and grand final. The very scary carry will stand with international squad Team HAI as it attempts to beat China’s own Team BYE despite the latter’s home field advantage. The event will take place on December 15, 2024 at 1 am CT. The exact map and game mode for the best-of-one has not yet been announced.

Here’s the roster for Yatoro’s squad, Team HAI.

• Illya “Yatoro” Mulyarchuk
• Oleksandr “s1mple” Kostyljev
• Audric “JACKZ” Jug
• Danylo “Zeus” Teslenko
• Jarosław “pashaBiceps” Jarząbkowski

CS2 fans will recognize all the names on this list besides Yatoro, but Dota 2 fans won’t be as familiar. s1mple was generally considered the greatest Counter-Strike player during Global Offensive and remains an icon despite his inactivity. French rifler JACKZ has played in tournaments for 15 years best known for his tenure with G2 Esports.

Zeus was a franchise player for Natus Vincere, sticking with the sponsor for nearly nine years across his career. And of course, no all-star game is complete without pashaBiceps, a beloved player famous for his long stint with Virtus.pro.

Yatoro’s hastily-assemble CS2 team won’t have an easy time against it’s opponent Team BYE. The Chinese squad also packs a surprise special guest.

• Zhou Guanyu
• Cai “Summer” Yulun
• Xu “somebody” Haowen
• Peng “ChildKing” Junhao
• Liu “MachineWJQ” Yibo

The team’s core trio of Summer, somebody, and ChildKing all hail from ZeroAtom, the sole Chinese qualifier for the Shanghai Major. While it didn’t perform as well as the crowd hoped, the players will get a chance at redemption in the all-star game.

Zhou Guanyu, however, comes from an entirely different discipline. Guanyu is a Formula 1 driver who has driven for Ferrari, Renault, Alfa Romeo, and most recently Stake. He’s arguably the most famous Chinese racing driver in the world, and he apparently has a penchant for Counter-Strike.

Western fans may not recognize MachineWJQ either, but the Shanghai crowd certainly will. The former Global Offensive pro has become a fan-favorite coach, caster, and analyst who made his CS2 debut at the 2023 CS Asia Championships. He will round out Team BYE with a touch of experience as it hopes to send Yatoro’s squad packing.

As for how well Yatoro plays, and what skins he rocks, CS2 and Dota 2 fans will have to tune in to the Shanghai Major all-star match themselves to find out.