Larl

– The International 12 Champion (2023)

– Riyadh Masters 2023 Winner

– DreamLeague Season 21 Winner

Biography

Denis “Larl” Sigitov was born on January 22, 2002, in Russia. Before joining Team Spirit, he played for VP.Prodigy, Winstrike Team, and BetBoom Team, developing his reputation as a mechanically skilled but understated midlaner.

In December 2022, Larl joined Team Spirit as the replacement for TORONTOTOKYO. His nickname can be read as either Larl or Lari, and he has said that he does not have a preference between the two pronunciations.

Team Spirit

Joining a TI-winning team was not easy. Larl was immediately compared with TORONTOTOKYO, and many fans judged him almost entirely by his laning statistics and net worth. However, Spirit gradually adjusted its system around him.

Larl plays a more sacrificial mid role because Yatoro and Collapse are naturally greedy cores who require significant resources. That often means Larl gives up farm, makes the uncomfortable rotation, buys the practical item, or starts the fight so that his teammates can finish it.

When I previously spoke with Korb3n about the criticism around Larl, his argument was simple: Larl performs the tasks that Team Spirit needs from its midlaner. He may not dominate lanes like Gpk or Quinn, but he remains calm, rarely destroys his team’s game through tilt, and is extremely reliable once the match reaches complicated team fights.

That system produced immediate results. In 2023, Larl won Riyadh Masters, DreamLeague Season 21, and The International 2023. Spirit later added PGL Wallachia Season 1, DreamLeague Season 25, and the Esports World Cup 2025 to the roster’s achievements.

The International 2026

At TI 2026, Larl again accepted whatever job the draft demanded. He played active initiators, secondary scaling heroes, and lower-economy mids depending on what Yatoro and Collapse needed. Spirit eventually defeated TEAM VISION 3-2, making Larl a two-time TI champion.

His role in the Grand Final showed exactly why raw net worth does not explain his value. Across the series he played Slark, Slardar, Nature’s Prophet, Storm Spirit, and Pangolier. In Game 5, his Pangolier helped control the long fights while Spirit created the conditions for Yatoro’s Lifestealer to carry the late game.

People will probably continue criticizing Larl whenever he loses mid or finishes behind the enemy core in farm. Fine. But the guy now has two Aegises. At some point, we need to accept that Team Spirit knows what it wants from him better than random people looking at the post-game net-worth chart.

Playstyle

Larl is a flexible and team-oriented midlaner. He is comfortable on heroes such as Pangolier, Puck, Ember Spirit, Leshrac, Keeper of the Light, and Invoker—heroes that can create tempo, initiate fights, or remain useful without consuming every safe area of the map.

His laning can still be inconsistent against the very best mechanical mids. However, his composure, team-fight positioning, and willingness to play sacrificially make him an ideal partner for two resource-heavy superstars.

He has already won Riyadh Masters and two editions of The International. The “weak link” conversation should probably be over.

Interesting Facts About Larl

Larl is unsure exactly where his nickname came from. He once suggested that it may have originated from the Russian shoe-store name “Kari,” with letters changed until it became “Larl.”

He was also included in Forbes Russia’s 30-under-30 list in the Sports and Esports category in 2024.