Team Spirit has taken the Counter-Strike world by storm at IEM Katowice 2024, sweeping FaZe Clan 3-0 in the Grand Finals to claim the prestigious trophy. How Spirit consistently dismantled their opposition throughout the entire event is worthy of the utmost praise, especially when it comes to 17-year-old phenom Danil “Donk” Kryshkovets.
Image Copyright: Helena Kristiansson, ESL FACEIT Group
Spirit started IEM Katowice in the Play-In Stage, which they quickly blew through. They 13-0’d Apeks in their first match in the studio, then swept The MongolZ to qualify for Groups instantly. Still, Spirit had yet to be tested against tier one competition. Against a gauntlet of top-level competition, Spirit dispatched Natus Vincere, Complexity, and FaZe Clan on their way to a direct semifinal berth in the Spodek Arena.
Once there, Team Spirit continued their reign of terror against Team Falcons. The game wasn’t even close. Spirit took a 13-8 on Anubis before crushing Falcons on Ancient 13-3 to qualify for the IEM Katowice Grand Finals. By this point, Spirit was already heralded as the newest title contender in CS2. The question was if they could get the job done on the biggest stage of their lives.
Spirit Start the Sweep
Team Spirit was ready to make a statement as the curtains rose on the IEM Katowice Grand Finals. FaZe Clan opened with their favorite map of Nuke, even though Spirit won on it in their Group Stage match. Spirit was running away with the game early, but a late T side resurgence from FaZe tied the game at the half.
Still, Spirit managed to stay ahead of the curve, largely thanks to Donk. His 32 kills and 132.4 ADR were a massive reason FaZe struggled to play. Even when FaZe found avenues to success, round wins were labored and hard to come by. In the end, Spirit took map one 13-9 to go up 1-0 in the series.
Next up was Spirit’s Mirage. The Russian squad lost the initial pistol round, putting them in a hole early. They did find a streak of rounds to bring the score back, but FaZe’s strong defense put them into the half with a 7-5 lead. However, FaZe couldn’t capitalize on that momentum in the second half. They lost seven of the first eight rounds to give up map point.
Of course, FaZe are such a dominant team for a reason. Even in that hole, they nearly managed to claw their way back to overtime. And they might have if not for the Scout of Dmitriy “sh1ro” Sokolov.Spirit repelled FaZe’s final attack with a low buy to take Mirage 13-11.
A Confident Crowning
Now up 2-0 in the IEM Katowice Grand Finals, the teams headed to Overpass. This was a curveball map pick by FaZe, mainly preying on Spirit’s lack of official games on the map. It became evident early on that FaZe had underestimated Spirit. The first half was a total mauling. FaZe Clan couldn’t make anything work on the T side, losing all but one round.
Of course, donk led the charge for Spirit in the last map of the match. He made highlight play after highlight play as Team Spirit marched ahead to a dominant conclusion. After just four rounds into the second half, Spirit closed out Overpass 13-3 to claim the IEM Katowice title.
Donk’s Historic Debut
Donk’s performance at IEM Katowice has shattered records. His jaw-dropping 1.93 HLTV rating in the Grand Finals spiked his overall rating for the tournament up to 1.70. This number ties the highest-ever rating at a prestige event in Counter-Strike history (with Nikola “NiKo” Kovač at ESL One New York 2017).
This historic record is accompanied by many more: #1 in Kills per Round (1.11), #1 in Average Damage per Round (110), #1 in K/D Ratio (1.80), and #1 in Impact Rating (2.10). Donk kept up this performance for 12 total maps while NiKo only played seven, and at a more prestigious event to boot, Donk’s IEM Katowice 2024 was the undisputed most dominant tournament ever played in Counter-Strike. And he did this in his first-ever top-tier outing, which is -absolutely unreal.
While we witnessed history (and the future, honestly), we’d be remiss not to talk about the rest of Team Spirit. One man isn’t enough to propel a team to the top, and Spirit has everything needed to stay there consistently.
A Strong Supporting Cast as Any
AWPer sh1ro stirred up quite a controversy when he voluntarily stepped down from Cloud9 at the start of CS2. With the AWPer’s stock at its lowest since his come-up, many questioned if he’d return to the spotlight soon. The answer is a resounding yes. Sh1ro had the third highest rating at IEM Katowice 2024, a 1.27. His consistent style pairs perfectly with a team led by aggressive riflers.
Speaking of aggressive riflers, 18-year-old Myroslav “zont1x” Plakhotja also made his big stage debut at IEM Katowice. Though overshadowed by Donk, zont1x played well beyond his years and had plenty of astonishing moments. He would already be a top prospect for Rookie of the Year if not for the elephant in the room.
Ever the reliable backbone, Boris “magixx” Vorobyev is Spirit’s unbreakable wall. Though just 20 years old, magixx has been with Spirit since 2019 and has been a strong player. He’s always stood out as pivotal to Spirit’s success when they went on the odd run throughout the years in Global Offensive.
Experience Leads the Way
Leonid “Chopper” Vishnyakov is the oldest member of Team Spirit by five years. The in-game leader has been playing since 2015, first making a big stage appearance with Vega Squadron. Chopper’s Spirit has always been respected, able to scrounge up new players and perform respectably on the big stage. However, chopper’s players would always get poached soon after they announced themselves before the team could reach their peak.
Now, chopper and Team Spirit have a real, championship-caliber squad at their fingertips. No longer is Team Spirit a name just to be “respected” in Counter-Strike; they’re a name to be feared. And this Spirit is different from many up-and-comer teams from past years. They have structure, strategy, and fundamentals down to the letter. IEM Katowice looks to be just the beginning, and Team Spirit is coming for the rest of the silverware.
