YNk: “Very poor start” for new Team Spirit roster

YNk: “Very poor start” for new Team Spirit roster

Counter-Strike analyst Janko “YNk” Paunović has criticised Team Spirit’s recent performances following their latest roster overhaul, calling it “a very poor start” for a team expected to challenge for every major title.

On X, YNk summarised his thoughts on the team’s struggles:

“Very poor start for this new Spirit lineup, eliminated by FaZe with a stand-in at EPL then not even making playoffs in Chengdu.”

He added that BLAST Rivals Fall 2025 is now Spirit’s final chance to bounce back before the next CS2 Major.

How the “new” Spirit came together

Team Spirit rebuilt around long-time in-game leader Leonid “chopper” Vishnyakov, superstar rifler Danil “donk” Kryshkovets, and AWPer Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov, with Ivan “zweih” Gogin and Andrey “tN1R” Tatarnovich joining to complete the roster under coach Sergey “hally” Shavaev.

July 2025: rifler zweih is promoted to the starting lineup.

September 2025: tN1R replaces Myroslav “zont1x” Plakhotia, while long-time player Boris “magixx” Vorobyev also departs.

These moves followed a dominant period in which Spirit had already claimed the PGL Astana 2025 Major and multiple elite titles earlier in the year.

With zweih on board, Spirit reached new heights, winning IEM Cologne 2025 and BLAST Bounty Fall 2025, establishing themselves as one of the world’s most feared CS2 teams. However, after tN1R joined, the team’s results began to decline.

Results slide: from Esports World Cup to IEM Chengdu

Since the roster changes, Spirit’s performance record has been inconsistent:

Esports World Cup 2025 (August): 9–16th place.

BLAST Open London 2025 qualifier (September): failed to qualify.

ESL Pro League Season 22 (October): top-8 exit after losing to FaZe Clan, who were fielding a stand-in.

IEM Chengdu 2025 (November): 7–8th place and $7,000 in prize money after falling short in the group stage.

At IEM Chengdu, Spirit’s Group A results were as follows:

2–0 win vs paiN in the opener.

0–2 loss to Team Falcons in the upper-bracket semifinal.

2–1 win over Heroic in the lower bracket.

1–2 defeat to The Mongolz in the lower-bracket final (13–7 Dust2, 19–16 Ancient, 13–6 Mirage).

That loss ended Spirit’s campaign in 7–8th place.

What the players are saying

sh1ro on the Falcons loss:

“We were caught off guard on Dust2 and couldn’t get into the game. On the second map, we had a strong CT half but lost a key round at 12–11 that turned the match around.”

chopper after elimination:

“Not today, thanks to everyone who supports us.”

tN1R took responsibility for his poor showing:

“Bad game from me at this tournament, nothing much to comment.”

He added that critics could say whatever they want, predicting they would “change their tune later” once results improve.

At IEM Chengdu, tN1R posted a 0.91 rating, the fourth-highest in the Spirit lineup.

Meanwhile, donk, usually a top performer, ranked only 12th among all players at the event. The group-stage leaderboard was led by Ilya “m0NESY” Osipov, followed by Mathieu “ZywOo” Herbaut, KSCERATO, molodoy, and sh1ro.

For a team defined by donk’s impact, that drop highlighted how Spirit are currently struggling to find their former dominance.

Kane: “Dream team” that doesn’t work

Former Major-winning coach Mikhail “Kane” Blagin also shared his perspective on Spirit’s situation. He described the roster as a “dream team” that lacks proper structure:

“The new players are very strong mechanically, but they came into roles where the main job is to help.”

He used a sharp metaphor to describe the team’s balance issues:

“Everyone wants to play on the grand piano, but there’s no one left to carry it.”

Kane noted that Spirit’s victories at IEM Cologne and BLAST Bounty Fall came right after zweih joined, but since tN1R’s addition, their finishes — 5–8th at EPL and 7–8th at Chengdu — show that the current setup still isn’t working.

The Mongolz series: last chance slips away

In the lower-bracket final at IEM Chengdu, The Mongolz, led by Garidmagnai “blitz” Byambasuren, defeated Spirit 2–1 (13–7 Dust2, 16–19 Ancient, 13–6 Mirage). Spirit’s elimination secured them 7–8th place and a modest $7,000 in prize money, while The Mongolz advanced to face FURIA in the playoffs.

What’s next: BLAST Rivals Fall 2025

Team Spirit now look ahead to BLAST Rivals Fall 2025, set for 12–16 November with a $350,000 prize pool. They will once again face Team Falcons in their opening Group A matchup.

This will be the last opportunity for the current lineup to regain confidence and prove that the summer rebuild can deliver consistent tier-one results before the next CS2 Major.