irbitka: tN1R’s Outstanding Form Was One of the Key Reasons Falcons Fell to Spirit at PGL Astana 2026

irbitka: tN1R’s Outstanding Form Was One of the Key Reasons Falcons Fell to Spirit at PGL Astana 2026

Professional player and streamer irbitka commented on Team Spirit’s victory over Team Falcons in the PGL Astana 2026 grand final, highlighting Andrey “tN1R” Tatarinovich’s impact as one of the decisive factors behind Falcons’ defeat.

Team Spirit swept Falcons 3-0 in the best-of-five final, winning Dust2 16-12, Mirage 13-7, and Ancient 13-10. The result gave Spirit their second straight PGL Astana title and ended a nine-month trophy drought.

According to HLTV’s match statistics, tN1R finished the final with 56 kills, 77.8 ADR, 71.8% KAST, and a 1.29 Rating 3.0, second only to Danil “donk” Kryshkovets on Spirit’s side. donk led the server with 62 kills and a 1.52 Rating 3.0, while Falcons’ best-rated player was Maksim “kyousuke” Lukin with 58 kills and a 1.18 rating.

tN1R later explained that his recent improvement is largely connected to confidence and mental work. “In Rio, I got a lot of energy and a lot of boost from my team, and also from the arena,” he told HLTV, adding that he has been trying to keep that confidence and work on his game.

He also credited Spirit’s sports psychologist for helping him reset mentally and communicate better with teammates: “When I have some thoughts or something like that, I can talk with him… it’s easier for me to work and communicate.”

The final began with Falcons pushing Spirit hard on Dust2, but Spirit survived overtime before taking control of the series. tN1R said Spirit expected Falcons to pick Mirage and were ready for it, noting that Falcons were still “a very new team” without a fully developed playbook.

Falcons reached the final after beating magic 2-0 in the semifinals, where m0NESY delivered a 2.26 rating on Dust2. However, against Spirit, Falcons could not turn their individual firepower into a map win.

The result also extended Falcons’ painful run of second-place finishes since signing m0NESY. HLTV noted that the roster has now collected six runner-up results with the Russian AWPer.

For Spirit, the Astana title is a major confidence boost before the upcoming Major. tN1R said the trophy would give “a lot of confidence for everyone,” while joking about donk’s MVP-level performance: “I don’t know, he’s just god.”