Vitality once again won another big tournament, this time BLAST Rivals Spring 2025, beating Falcons in a tough 3:2 grand final. While we already talked about enough about the amazing season from Vitality, we also need to look at Team Spirit – and what went wrong for them.

Spirit had a perfect chance to win this tournament. Vitality and Falcons had just come back from Australia after playing in IEM Melbourne 2025, where they went all the way to the final. That was a long, exhausting trip. Just two days later, they were already in Copenhagen playing at BLAST Rivals. 

Spirit, on the other hand, had more than a month of rest and preparation. Still, they couldn't do anything against these tired teams. They lost to Falcons in the group stage 1:2 and then were completely demolished by Vitality in the semifinals 0:2. This was a very disappointing result.

The stats tell the story

Here is how Spirit’s players performed over the last six months:

• donk – 7.4 rating
• sh1ro – 6.7
• zont1x – 6.1
• magixx – 6.0
• chopper – 5.6

These numbers show a big gap between Spirit’s stars and the rest of the team. Danil "donk" Kryshkovets and Dmitriy "sh1ro" Sokolov are two of the best players in the world right now. But Spirit as a team are not winning. They’ve been losing to MOUZ, to Falcons, and now again to Vitality. That’s a serious problem.

A season of missed chances

Spirit started 2025 really well. They won BLAST Bounty Spring 2025 and looked strong. But since then, they’ve only reached one more final at IEM Katowice 2025 where Vitality destroyed them 3:0. Every other time, they lost in the semifinals: three times in a row. For a team with this much talent, it’s not enough.

Last year, Spirit ended the season by winning the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024. Expectations were high. But now, they are struggling. Something is clearly not working and considering their simple “donk, go kill” style the issue must be in the individual performance.

Time for a change?

Spirit are not playing some super complex style of Counter-Strike. The issue is likely in the roles and performance of certain players. It’s clear that Leonid "chopper" Vishnyakov, the captain, is underperforming with just a 5.6 rating. But because he is the in-game leader, the team probably won’t replace him.

That leaves Myroslav "zont1x" Plakhotia and Boris "magixx" Vorobyev as the main candidates for a change. At BLAST Rivals, zont1x had a bad tournament. But overall this year, he has been decent. On the other hand, magixx has been struggling more regularly. He likely would have been replaced earlier, but his great performance at the Shanghai Major, especially in the final, saved him.

Now might be the right time to test a new player. The next tournament, PGL Astana 2025, starts soon. Vitality, Falcons, and MOUZ will not be there, which makes Spirit the favorites. It’s the perfect moment to try something new without too much risk.

A chance for kyousuke

Spirit have a talented player in their academy: Maksim "kyousuke" Lukin. His individual stats over the past six months are excellent:

• Rating: 6.9
• Kills per round: 0.86
• ADR: 92

He’s confident, skilled, and ready to prove himself. Many people are already talking about him as one of the best young players in the region. There are even rumors that Falcons and other top teams are interested in signing him.

PGL Astana is the perfect time to test him. Spirit could say that magixx is sick and bring in kyousuke as a stand-in. This way, they don’t commit to a full change yet but can see how he performs in real LAN conditions, against strong teams, and with pressure.

He won’t match his academy numbers, but his aim and game sense should still make him a good player. He will need some support and role changes, especially from donk or zont1x, but it’s worth trying. Adding young blood can also increase motivation and create healthy competition within the team.

What’s next?

Spirit haven’t made any roster changes since the end of 2023, when sh1ro joined from Cloud9. The rest of the squad has stayed the same. But after another poor showing, it might be time to shake things up.

Testing a young talent like kyousuke won’t hurt. If it works, Spirit might find the missing piece they need. If not, they still have time to fix the roster before the next Major cycle. Other teams like NAVI have also tried this path with academy players. Spirit could do the same and find great success.

One thing is clear: if Spirit want to stay at the top, they can’t keep losing chances like BLAST Rivals. PGL Astana is a golden opportunity to try something new – and they should take it.