CS2 at EWC 26: Spirit close out the event with a win

In front of a packed stadium of local French and international fans, Spirit showcased why they’re considered one of the best teams in the world, despite recent turmoil throwing doubt on that claim.

Spirit’s Early Hiccup

Having rebounded from a surprising loss early in the tournament, Spirit persevered, knocking off B8, Legacy, and local heroes Team Vitality on their way to the finals. But they collided with a brick wall in FUT in the Grand Finals, having to grind out victory after an initial map loss.

Spirit started slowly in the matchup, dropping the first map, Cache, to an aggressive and active FUT team. Danil "donk" Kryshkovets, the youthful star of Spirit just couldn’t get things going, and without him carrying, the team looked weak.

On map two, Anubis, Spirit finally started to grasp the advantage. With support from his team, donk started fragging out, playing with the top-form we’ve come to expect.

Flipping the Script

However, map three, Ancient, proved to be the defining moment of the series. The match went to double overtime, but Spirit, backed by Dmitry “sh1ro” Sokolov’s textbook AWP rotations and clutch site holds, managed to take the map. Spirit went up 16-14 and took the series lead.

The win boosted Team Spirit’s momentum and seemingly crushed FUT’s morale, as a 13-5 win on Map 4 closed the series 3-1. The final map was a dominant performance, and in the packed Accor Arena, in front of thousands of screaming fans, Spirit lifted the trophy.

donk the clear MVP

Team Spirit’s donk was awarded the SONY MVP, earning an extra $25,000 bounty. His consistent performance enamored both the French crowd and viewers around the world. He also helped lead Team Spirit in breaking the two-year losing streak against France’s own Team Vitality, earlier in the tournament, when donk completely took over in map three of that series to silence the Parisian crowd.

Suffice to say, his presence and his performance undoubtedly makes him the star of CS2 at EWC 26, as he continues his journey to etch his name in the annals of history as one of the best CS2 players in the world.

With Team Spirit’s monumental win in CS2, the organization claimed 1,000 Club Championship points. With a total of 2,200 points for the tournament, they finish the Championship in sixth place, winning $1,400,000 of prize money.