Spirit kicked off the year in high spirits, by winning the season’s inaugural event, BLAST Bounty 2025 Season 1, and are now into the Grand Final of IEM Cologne 2025, the first event of the second half of the year. They also have the best chance to win a trophy in a Vitality-participated event since January, with the number one team out of the picture. But how has the recent change looked for Spirit, who are debuting this event with zweih? And is it enough to beat Vitality further down the line? The short answer seems to be no, but for the long answer, let’s take a deeper dive.
Spirit’s latest change, which can be safely labeled as a supposed firepower upgrade, hasn’t exactly panned out to be one. So far, zweih has a rating of 0.93 in this tournament, with an impact rating of 0.88 and a 66.3 ADR. In comparison, magixx held a 0.97 rating, 0.83 impact, and a 66.8 ADR in his last three months with Spirit.
It is true that zweih has a slightly better rating on the CT-side than magixx, and has been a far more aggressive rifler on the CT-side than him. But when you look at the T-side, his contributions have been limited, with more or less the same impact on the T-side. While, on paper, Spirit’s CT side looks to have improved a bit compared to previous events, the sample size is too small to make a concrete deduction. A single swallow does not a summer make.
With zweih being the second-lowest-rated performer for Spirit, and the only teammate even remotely supporting donk, it has been a one-man show to brute-force their way into the final. A 1.42 rating against NAVI, 1.32 against MOUZ, 2.17 against Aurora, and 1.35 elsewhere stands as testament to that very fact, with three out of the remaining four players sitting on a 1.00 or lower rating.
It’s no surprise that donk has been a monster ever since arriving on the Tier 1 scene, but he’s looked sharper with every event. His performance at IEM Cologne 2025 so far is on par with his MVP run at the Perfect World Shanghai Major 2024, marking the third-highest rated event of his career. His performance here might also carry a personal grudge, as his only below-par event for Spirit came at this very tournament last year, where he struggled with a 0.79 rating.
The change Spirit made was intended to make them a title contender against Vitality. And while they may beat MOUZ again today, having already bested them once this tournament, that may not be enough to serve the purpose.
Vitality has been a thorn in Spirit’s side, changing their entire plans and trajectory. The rivalry that started at IEM Katowice 2025 has only intensified. Vitality have become the final villain for Spirit, stopping them in their tracks in the:
Grand Final of IEM Katowice 2025
Semi-Final of BLAST Open Lisbon 2025
Semi-Final of BLAST Rivals 2025 Season 1
If the change was aimed at improving Spirit’s odds of beating Vitality and becoming a title contender, then the first signs aren’t all that promising. This may still be too early to judge, but it feels like Spirit need one more change if they hope to reach Vitality’s level, as they can’t keep relying on donk’s heroics to push them over the finish line.
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