Team Spirit will continue their quest for the title at the IEM Cologne Major 2026 without their head coach Sergey "hally" Shavaev. As confirmed by HLTV, the Russian coach will miss all playoff matches due to health issues.
hally was absent with the team during Stage 2 and Stage 3, but this did not prevent Spirit from having an almost perfect tournament. The team completed both stages with a flawless 3-0 result, with the team's star being Daniil "donk" Kryshkovets.
Tandem in Spirit
Despite not being on stage, hally will continue to assist the team remotely. Working alongside him is Dmitry "S0tF1k" Forostyanko, who also couldn't make it to Germany due to visa issues.
Recently, Spirit restructured their coaching staff, after which both specialists began working closely together. According to the organization's brand director, Konstantin Machaidze, S0tF1k is responsible for the game's micro-moments, tactics, mechanics, and grenades, while hally continues to coordinate the overall direction of the team's work.
Team Prospects
Despite staffing challenges, Spirit remains one of the tournament's main favorites. The team has already secured a spot in the quarterfinals and is awaiting their opponent. It is known that the Russian team will be in the same bracket as Vitality and Falcons, who will face each other in the first round of the playoffs.
For Spirit, this will be another test on the road to the Major title, but the team's results in the tournament so far indicate that even without the head coach present, they remain one of the strongest teams in the world.
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