Team Spirit has suffered their second consecutive defeat at ESL Pro League Season 24 following a 2-0 series loss to 1win. The result grants 1win a direct playoff ticket to the Spodek Arena and leaves the tournament favorites fighting for survival in the lower brackets.
Tournament favorites struggle to find form in Katowice
Entering the event regarded as the top team globally, Spirit has shown clear signs of rust following a month-long break from professional competition. This defeat to their Russian countrymen follows a loss to MOUZ yesterday, which ended Spirit’s streak of over 600 days without dropping a match in a Swiss group stage.
Cache dominance sets the tone for 1win
The series commenced on Cache, where 1win controlled the server entirely en route to a decisive 13-5 victory. Andrey ‘BELCHONOKK’ Yasinskiy anchored the 1win roster with an impressive 1.70 rating and 18 kills. Danil ‘donk’ Kryshkovets was the only Spirit player to offer substantial resistance, finishing with 14 kills and a 0.97 rating. The rest of the Spirit squad struggled significantly, highlighted by Myroslav ‘zont1x’ Plakhotia ending the first map with just five kills.
Ax1Le leads Anubis victory to close out the series
The momentum carried over to Anubis, where 1win secured the series sweep with a 13-9 win. Sergey ‘Ax1Le’ Rykhtorov led the charge for 1win on the second map, posting a server-high 1.52 rating alongside 17 kills and an 81.8% KAST. Vladislav ‘nafany’ Gorshkov and Artem ‘ArtFr0st’ Kharitonov provided strong support, both finishing with 1.27 ratings to keep the Spirit defense on the back foot.
Despite an improved individual performance from zont1x, who bounced back with 21 kills and a 1.24 rating, Spirit could not force a decider. The team’s star player, donk, found himself neutralized by the 1win setup, concluding Anubis with a 0.75 rating and a negative kill-death differential.
The 2-0 victory solidifies 1win’s place in the playoffs, while Spirit will need to regroup quickly to avoid an early elimination from Katowice. For 1win the victory has another very positive side effect. Their win elevates them into an almost certain spot at the upcoming Major in Singapore.
